Guardian's Rebirth
by Alatum Laminis
Summary: A young man returns after years of self-imposed exile, but he is colder, yet more powerful, than before. Although he turns way from the friends he left behind, one old friend will not give up on him. By becoming involved with him, she finds herself in a series of events that may very well spell both of their dooms. AbilityShipping.
1. Prologue

**I am not a good gambler. Still, I enjoy games. Recently, my **_**Azure and Lilac**_** story has lost much meaning for me, while my regret of deleting this story grew stronger. As deleting **_**Azure and Lilac **_**will incite ****much anger among you, I will play a little game.**

**So, I will make a gamble. Whichever one I believe is the more loved will be the one that stays. **_**Guardian's Rebirth **_**or **_**Azure and Lilac?**_** Or will it be both, but at the price of one of them going on a long hiatus to deal with the other one? I can't handle four stories at once. I'll leave it up to you readers to decide. **

**Enough introductions, here's Chapter 1. **

"Sceptile, finish this! Leaf Blade!" The glowing green Pokémon, Overgrow activated, struck down its opponent with a powerful slash, just as it had defeated so many others.

But this opponent was different. It was none other than a Garchomp, and a very powerful one at that. It was the Garchomp that belonged to the Sinnoh Region Champion, Cynthia! It was a Pokémon that had almost never been defeated in battle, and yet this Sceptile just barely managed to beat it.

Cynthia herself was shocked, although she would not show it. Her face remained calm as she returned her fallen Pokémon to its ball. "You did wonderfully, my friend. Thank you." Then she looked at her opponent, whose face was shrouded. "You've become very powerful. I guess this means that you're the Champion now."

The young man shook his head. "This battle was unofficial, Cynthia. Besides, I would refuse that title anyway. I don't plan on settling down in any place anytime soon," he said.

"You've changed. You've matured. I don't know if it's for the better or worse. Why are you challenging the most powerful trainers in the world?" Cynthia asked.

"The Elite Four and the Champions are just tests that I want to surpass. Even among them, you are exceptional, Cynthia. You're probably second only to Lance. Bringing me down to my last Pokémon, and then bringing it down to the point where it had to use Overgrow…it's no wonder you're the Champion," the man said.

"So you're just testing us, Aura Guardian?" Cynthia asked.

At this, part of the man's face was revealed. Deep brown, almost red, eyes, and raven hair poked out from a blue aura Guardian's fedora. A Raichu sat on the man's shoulder. "How did you know?" he asked.

"Lucario was acting strange. So you've progressed that far, huh?" Cynthia asked.

"Thanks for the acknowledgment and the battle. I'll be seeing you. I just have one favor. Please, don't tell anyone that I was here."

The man walked off, disappearing into the shadows.

Although his face was hidden, Cynthia knew full well who he was. That was why she was so surprised. His battling style was much more pronounced than before. It was more strategic, but always ended in very powerful attacks. He had become strong, but Cynthia saw that he was much colder than he used to be.

She wouldn't tell his old friends. If she did, then they would be that much closer to finding him. But no matter how much more mature they had become over the years, Cynthia was unsure of how they would react when they finally met him.

She knew one thing. It certainly would not be a happy reunion.

_Meanwhile…_

Cynthia's opponent was currently standing in front of a rather nervous Nurse Joy. "Please heal my Pokémon," he said, holding out his Raichu and a belt of Poke Balls.

"Oh, yes, right away, sir," she said, hastily accepting the offered Pokémon and belt. There was something about the man that seemed rather familiar. Suddenly, she had an idea. "Hey, aren't you…?"

"No. I'm not who you think I am. Just heal my Pokémon and I'll be on my way, Nurse Joy," the man said.

"But there's a storm coming. Won't you stay just for tonight?" The man hesitated, then nodded reluctantly. It had been awhile since he had some time to relax. Besides, his Pokémon could use it, especially after the battle they just had.

"My Pokémon will be healed tomorrow morning?" he asked.

"Judging from their wounds, it's chancy, but there's a chance nonetheless," Nurse Joy said.

The man sighed. "Very well. I'll stay for two nights. I'll leave the day after tomorrow."

Nurse Joy smiled. "That's very prudent of you, Ash," she whispered.

The man flinched. "Am I that easy to figure out?" he asked.

"You know, you've been declared disappeared for four years. It's all over the news. Why? Your friends and family must be worried sick," Nurse Joy asked.

Ash looked around. "I have my reasons, Nurse Joy, none of which I wish to share. And right now, I don't really want to see my friends. Don't call any of them," he said.

He walked off to the dining area, leaving a confused Nurse Joy behind.

**Leave a comment with your vote below. **


	2. The Encounter

**Disclaimer: Same for all chapters. If I owned Pokémon, Ash would still be badass, and actually be twelve or thirteen instead of ten. But sadly enough, I don't own Pokémon. **

**Oh, and one more thing. Unova never happened. Ash got lame around that point.**

It was the night before Ash would leave the center to continue his travels. Still, where would he go? He had finally tracked down Cynthia, and defeated her. She was his last target. Now, he felt that there were no worthwhile opponents. The Frontier Brains and the Gym Leaders were an option, of course, but he had already beaten most of them.

"Rai?" Ash smiled and petted the little rodent. His Raichu was always faithful to him. It was the only Pokémon that was a constant for the entirety of his journey. On his belt were five other Poke Balls containing his Charizard, Sceptile, Glalie, Feraligatr, and Gallade. Gallade was a new addition to his team, but had proven his mettle many times. Feraligatr was still affectionate, but kept those outbursts to a minimum, and now settled for roughly hugging Ash.

But back to his options. He could go home, but he had just said that he would not settle down. Besides, he was not in the mood for the publicity or those annoying reactions that people got during reunions.

_Maybe some training will clear my mind, _he thought. He got up and headed for the door. Along the way, he bumped into someone in his reverie. "Oh, I'm sorr…" He abruptly cut himself off. For standing in front of him was a girl, and one he hadn't seen in a long time.

Like him, she had changed. Her lilac hair now flowed smoothly down to halfway down her back. She, of course, had grown in more ways than one, and Ash found his eyes drawn to her chest a little bit more than what was appropriate.

But her eyes were the same. The same deep purple. The same wisdom despite her young age. And now she was looking at him weirdly. "Sir? Is something wrong?" she asked.

"I'm sorry. Excuse me," Ash murmured, moving around her. She didn't recognize him, at least. That was something. He ran off, his Raichu whispering that he should have revealed himself. Ash ignored it.

However, he was wrong. The girl had recognized him. She would have been a failure of a telepath if she didn't recognize the Raichu as Ash's Pikachu. And it would have been absolutely pathetic if she didn't recognize the voice that the man had used. It was deeper, but it was unmistakably Ash's.

Salon Maiden Anabel's eyes followed Ash's retreating form. What was he doing here? He had been off everyone's radar for years. And now he had suddenly turned up here? It was strange.

"Anabel! You won't believe what just happened! A man with a Raichu on his shoulder just pushed past me! He didn't even apologize!" It was her friend, Sarah, who had followed her from the Battle Tower. Sarah was a very good trainer, and served as her opponent during practice matches. She also battled challengers when Anabel was out on errands. Also, she was a telekinetic, meaning that she could move objects according to will.

"That was Ash Ketchum," Anabel murmured.

"What? That guy who disappeared years ago? But he had a…" The realization dawned. It wasn't a stretch to consider that the Pikachu that was described to be perched on Ash's shoulder could have evolved into a Raichu. "How do you know?"

"I battled him twice. He beat me the second time. It was four long years ago…" Anabel said wistfully.

Being a good trainer generally meant good observation, and Sarah was a very good trainer. It wasn't that hard to see the blush on Anabel's face. "You've got a crush on him, don't you?" she teased.

"N-no! It was just a…" Anabel stopped, realizing that she had just given herself away. Her blush got darker.

"I knew it! It's official, then! We're following him!" Sarah said.

"How can we find him?" Anabel asked.

"Did he have a bag with him?" Sarah asked. Anabel shook her head. "Precisely! So, we'll just wait here until he comes back!" Just then, a blast of electricity shot skywards. It quickly attracted a crowd of people to the Pokémon Center windows. "Never mind, I'll be willing to bet that's where he is," Sarah said. Anabel smiled and nodded.

The two girls raced towards where they hoped was the origin of the attack. Luckily, there were intermittent bursts, so it was like a trail. Before long, they reached a grove. In the center were Ash and another young man with an outfit similar to Ash's.

Whereas Ash's was blue, the other man's was green. The two girls quickly hid behind the undergrowth and trees.

"It's been a while, Leon," Ash said.

"Definitely," Leon said.

"What's your business?" Ash asked.

"I heard you kicked Cynthia's ass. I just took down Lance. Shall we see whose victory was worth more?" Leon asked.

"You've definitely gotten a lot stronger if you could beat Lance," Ash remarked.

"Narrowly. And I suspect that your victory was the same," Leon replied.

"Correct. Narrowly. But enough small talk. If I understand you correctly, you came wanting a battle?" Ash asked.

"Later. There's something I wanted to talk to you about. We have new orders," Leon said.

Ash scoffed. "You know I'm a freelancer, Leon. I don't take orders unless I feel like it," he said.

Leon shrugged. "And so am I. But this one's different. It's a protection job," he said.

At this, Ash seemed to gain interest. "Whom do we have to protect?" he asked.

"No, it's whom _you_ have to protect. I'm only supposed to serve as backup," Leon grunted.

Ash laughed humorously. "And you're not going to follow them," he guessed.

Leon laughed as well. "You know me. I like to be where the action is. Our client is surprising, actually. Here, check it out." He handed Ash a sheet of paper. Ash's eyes widened upon reading it.

"Scott," Ash whispered.

Anabel and Sarah's eyes widened, and they stifled gasps. Scott? What business did he have with these two trainers who could defeat Champions? They would get their answer very soon.

"Read the job. I think that you won't hesitate to take it," Leon said with a smile.

Ash began to do so, and Raichu leaned over to do the same. As they read, their eyes widened again. "This is it? So they're forcing me to protect her?" he asked.

"They're asking you to. If you refuse, I'll just do it myself, and you can be on your merry way. Her companion sparks my interest. A lovely blond girl…that description reminds of a childhood friend I used to have," Leon said wistfully.

Ash smiled. "Friends…it's been so long since I've seen mine," he said.

"Yeah…why haven't you gone back? It's fine with me because I have no one to turn to. But you are considered missing. Your friends want to see you," Leon said.

"But I don't want to see them. I've gotten so far without them. I kind of feel like friends were sort of holding me back. And yet I still miss them. It's strange," Ash said.

"You certainly are confused. Do you want to refuse? If I recall correctly, you and I watched the client for a time two years ago, did we not?" Leon asked.

"We did. It was just an observance mission. You left, but I stayed longer. Then, I left her behind. And I will not make the same mistake again. I wouldn't have done so if I knew that people as dangerous as him were targeting her for her powers," Ash said.

Leon smiled. "So you're taking the mission?" he asked. Ash nodded. "Will you reveal yourself?" Ash hesitated. "You said that it was a mistake last time. We must learn from our mistakes, Ash. You and I both know that."

"Don't try to preach to me, Leon. I'll reveal myself. I'll come up with some explanation," Ash said.

"Very well. I'll report to base, and then I'll fly to your location. Any favors from me besides not revealing your location?" Leon asked.

"Wait a little bit before showing up. Maybe a few weeks, unless the situation changes," Ash said.

"Very well. I'll leave the protection of Salon Maiden Anabel Crystallium to you," Leon said. Anabel gasped.

"Would you like to meet her before you go?" Ash asked.

"Why would I bother?" Leon asked.

"Because she's here. I saw her today at the Pokémon Center nearby. Matter of fact, she's here now," Ash said, looking straight at the two girls' hiding place. "Anabel, come on out. Your friend, too."

Anabel and Sarah hesitated. "Our job is to protect you, not harm you. We won't do so, and we don't plan to," Leon reassured. After a few minutes, Anabel and Sarah revealed themselves and walked into the clearing, joining the two boys.

"How long did you know?" Anabel asked.

"From the very beginning," Ash said.

Leon looked at him incredulously. "And you didn't tell me?!" he demanded.

Ash's gaze turned mocking. "You always did suck at sensing things, Leon," he said.

Leon gritted his teeth. "The offer to battle still stands. Do you really want to risk it here?" he asked, gripping a Poke Ball at his belt.

"There are too many people, and not enough space, Leon. You and I both know that," Ash growled. The two stood glaring at each other before Leon let go of the ball.

"Explain what we heard. Why did Scott ask you to protect me?" Anabel asked.

Ash was about to explain, but was interrupted by Leon. "You're Sarah, Anabel's companion. Am I correct?" he asked.

Sarah nodded. "And you're Leon Firesect, one of the top Pokémon trainers around," she said.

Leon grinned and bowed. "A common stranger knows who I am? I see that my illustrious reputation precedes me," he laughed.

Sarah shook her head. "I know you far too well," she sighed.

Leon's eyes widened, and he instantly got into a fighting pose. "I don't know who you are, psychic, so don't assume that you know me," he snapped.

Sarah looked at him, somehow seeming saddened. "Read my last name. It should be on your paper," she said.

Leon did so. "_Ash Ketchum. You are charged with the protection of Anabel Crystallium and Sarah Isecolt. Leon Firesect will act as backup," _he read. "Isecolt? Is that name supposed to mean something to me?"

Sarah gained a distressed look on her face, and then rage took over. "Did I mean that little to you?" she asked.

"What are you talking about? You mean very little to me as of now. Sarah Isecolt? I've never heard that name in my…" Leon stopped. "Could it be…no, that's impossible. She's dead."

"I survived, Leon. Whether you like it or not," Sarah snapped.

Leon backed up, his face revealing his emotions for once. But even if it didn't, all the people present could feel them. Fear. Anger. Regret. Then, his face turned impassive. "Good day," he spat out, throwing up a Poke Ball. "Aerodactyl!" A large bat-like Pokémon appeared, shrieking. "Back to base!" Aerodactyl looked down, caught sight of Sarah, and was about to screech something when Leon interrupted. "Aerodactyl! That's an order! Pay no attention to that girl or anyone else! Fly me back to base!" Leon's voice held no argument, and Aerodactyl quickly did what it was told. Leon jumped onto its back as the Pokémon hovered lower. As soon as he was secure, Aerodactyl flew off.

Sarah's eyes followed them, brimming with tears that she hastily wiped away. Then, she looked at Ash and Anabel. "I'll meet you guys back at the Pokémon Center. I expect you to explain everything to me later. Just give me some time alone," she snapped, running off.

"What was that about?" Ash asked.

"I think they have some kind of history together," Anabel remarked. "Anyway, they interrupted. As I asked, explain."

Ash glared at her. "I don't have to explain anything to you. I'm just here to protect you and Sarah until everything goes away. It's my duty and my job," he replied frostily.

"I heard that you and Leon watched me. You said that it was some kind of observance mission. Can you at least explain that?" Anabel asked.

"I said that I don't have to explain anything to you!" Ash growled. He grabbed Anabel's arm and roughly pulled her along.

"Let me go! Where are you taking me?" Anabel asked. Ash didn't reply. "Damn it, this is not the Ash I knew!" At this, Ash stopped and turned back to her, anger and regret in his eyes.

"I'm not the same, Anabel. The Ash you knew was a shadow of what I am now," he said.

Anabel glared back at him. "Are you trying to convince me or yourself? Sorry, but in my eyes, it's the other way around," she said. Ash turned away, and tried to drag her away again, but this time she resisted. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what I want to know."

Ash didn't care. He slung her over his shoulder and threw out a Poke Ball. "Charizard, take flight!" he shouted. A mighty roar sounded as the fire dragon appeared. Ash leapt onto it, ignoring Anabel's screaming. "Back to the Pokémon Center, my room!"

Charizard reached the Pokémon Center in just a few seconds and hovered to a stop in front of an open window. Ash jumped in, adjusted his grip on Anabel so that they were facing each other, and landed on his back, shielding her from the impact. Raichu had leapt onto the bed when Ash had entered the room.

Ash was quickly aware of the position that he and Anabel were in, and got up before she could make any comment about it. Finally, he set her down on her feet. He noticed that she had a bit of a blush on her cheeks. As a matter of fact, his face felt a little hot, too. It had been a while since he had been in such close proximity with a girl.

"Sorry. It was the quickest way to get here," Ash said, returning Charizard. "Thanks," he said to the Poke Ball.

Anabel dusted herself off. "Well, you could have been gentler. I am a lady, you know," she said.

Ash shrugged. "I won't try that again. Now back to business. You said that you wanted me to explain a few things. You resisted me, or tried to. That spirit is admirable. I suppose I can let you ask a few questions," he said.

"Can we wait until Sarah gets here?" Anabel asked.

"If you want to go get her, I'm coming with you," Ash said. Anabel nodded reluctantly, and she led Ash and Raichu down a few doors. She reached a door and knocked. "Sarah? Are you in here?"

"The door's open," Sarah's voice murmured. Anabel opened the door, and Sarah looked up. Her eyes were red from crying.

When she saw Ash, she immediately got hostile. "What is he doing here?" she asked.

"He's going to explain things," Anabel said.

"Can I do it here?" Ash asked. Anabel nodded. Ash leaned against the wall and folded his arms.

"Would you like some tea?" Anabel asked, holding out a kettle.

"No," Ash said. Anabel shrugged and poured a cup for herself and Sarah.

"So, Ash?" Anabel asked.

"What? Where would you like me to start?" Ash asked, acting clueless.

Anabel glared at him. "From your disappearance. Your friends are worried sick," she said.

"They can keep worrying. I'm not going back yet," Ash said.

"Why? Did something happen?" Anabel asked.

"Yes, but it wasn't their fault. It was mine," Ash said.

**Leave a comment below. **


	3. Explanations

**Enjoy.**

Ash began to explain. "Well, after I blew the Sinnoh League, I headed back home without telling anyone. Then, I went to Professor Oak's lab and swapped out my team. I left my Pokémon there except for Sceptile and Raichu, and then I picked up my Muk, Totodile and Glalie. Finally, I walked to the Pokémon Center in Viridian City and asked Liza in Charicific Valley to send my Charizard there. I left a note for Mom that I was going to leave on a journey, though I didn't tell her where."

"Why? Wouldn't you save your mom a lot of worry?" Sarah asked.

"I didn't tell her because I didn't know myself. There were no major leagues nearby. All I knew is that I wanted to get stronger, and the Pokémon I had with me had the potential to become the greatest team that I ever had," Ash said.

"So where did you go?" Sarah asked.

"Mt. Silver. I trained there alone for a year, surviving on nothing but my wits. My Totodile eventually evolved into a Feraligatr, and my Muk even learned how to control its stench," Ash said. He looked at Raichu. "Raichu here didn't evolve on purpose. It fell into a pit that was thick with Thunderstone dust. And here's the result. Mt. Silver is also where I met my newest Pokémon."

Ash took out a Poke Ball and threw it, revealing his Gallade. Both Anabel and Sarah stared with wide eyes at its red blades and blue horns. "I found him struggling to survive on Mt. Silver, and I took him in, although it took a while for him to trust me. I sent Muk back to Professor Oak to make room for Gallade on my team. He was also really helpful for getting Raichu out of the pit." Raichu glared at Ash, who glared back. "I apologized, didn't I? I got it. It was my fault, all right?" he asked. Raichu simply sniffed.

"But you were gone for four years. Everyone who had ever even met you was worried," Anabel said.

"Even you?" Ash asked.

"Even me. That's why I want to know exactly what happened and what's going on," Anabel said.

"Well, on Mt. Silver, I met someone. Someone who's hidden his presence for much longer than my four years. I met my father," Ash said.

"What was he like?" Sarah asked.

"His name was Liam Ketchum, and he was just as my mom said. A strong and very powerful trainer, maybe even Champion level. But he was also something else." Ash raised his hands, and set them alight with energy.

"An Aura Guardian," Anabel realized.

"Correct. He trained me in both Aura and Pokémon, and I became skilled in both fields. I trained under him for another six months. Then it happened. Before my training was complete, my dad's lower body was crushed under a flash rockslide. I was able to dig him out, but it was too late. But he told me one thing as he died. He told me the location of an organization called Aura Psychicorum. It's Latin for "Aura of the Psychics. He said that going there would increase my skills in both fields and help me choose my path," Ash said.

"I've never heard of it," Anabel said, looking at Sarah, who shook her head.

"You shouldn't have. Neither of you are powerful enough to even be recommended. It's an organization that operates in complete secrecy. Its agents are comprised of the last and most powerful psychics and aura-users, and they are also powerful Pokémon trainers as well. The aura-users are generally male, and the psychics are generally female. There's a huge rivalry between the two groups," Ash said.

"What does the organization do?" Anabel asked.

"We're basically guardians, kind of like the G-Men. We go around the world, accepting jobs and such from the local populace and the top brass to help out with their Pokémon. The weakest ones help starting trainers, while the strongest focus on investigating ancient and dark forces, protection of clients, and stopping evil crime syndicates like Team Aqua and Team Magma. The ones around the middle do random jobs like recruitment, and observance," Ash explained.

"You're one of the strongest?" Anabel asked.

"Me and Leon both," Ash said.

"That's something else I want to know. Leon's an Aura Guardian?" Sarah asked.

"You two seem to have some history together. Care to explain?" Ash asked.

Sarah glared at him. "That's my business," she said.

Ash shrugged. "Yours and Leon's. It's not within my caring or my jurisdiction to pry. Speaking of Leon, yes, he is an Aura Guardian. He's as powerful as me in both Pokémon and Aura. We've worked together a few times," he said.

"You said that you and him watched me. What's that supposed to mean?" Anabel asked. Ash looked away. "You said that you at least owe me that much. Explain."

"You say that too much. But you're right. I owe you that much." Ash sighed. "It was a job from headquarters. We were supposed to observe you and Sarah. It was just to see your psychic powers. After a while, Leon left. He got bored, and was going to tell the top brass that you were not worth it. I stayed behind, mostly because Raichu wanted to see how you were," he said.

_Could he have seen…_ Anabel thought, but her thoughts were silenced and calmed. "I left after some time, and I reported the same thing that Leon did. Your powers only extended to empathy and telepathy, and that Sarah's powers were minor," Ash said.

Anabel sighed in relief, until she caught Ash staring at her for a few moments. "What? Continue," she said.

Ash nodded. "Anyway, Leon and I eventually became two of their best agents, and we went freelance, only doing what we wanted. The organization was pissed at first, but they lost it, and besides, it's not like we ever gave a damn in the first place," he said.

"You said something about a powerful person targeting me," Anabel said.

"Yes. A while back, we had an encounter with a rogue psychic and aura-user. A hybrid, basically. He was very strong, but mentally unstable. It took our best agents to even have a chance of combatting him, and we had to seal him. Killing him was nearly impossible. Leon and I were among the sent agents, and we barely survived the encounter," Ash said.

"Killing him?" Anabel said with a quaver in her voice.

"He was getting too dangerous. If he had progressed, he would have been a threat not only to the organization, but also to the world. We had to at least try. Still, all we could do was seal him in a special energy-absorbing container that could only be broken from the outside," Ash said.

"Wait, are you saying that he was broken out and he's on the loose now?" Anabel asked.

"As of yet, we don't have any leads as to where he is," Ash said.

"So why do you have to protect us? What does he have to do with us?" Sarah asked.

"This hybrid targets, attacks, and kills aura-users and psychics indiscriminately, whether they're strong or weak. If he were ever to stumble upon you two, and he will if not contained, he would kill you without hesitation, and your Pokémon would be crushed, unable to defend you. Our Pokémon, on the other hand, have developed resistance from aura and psychic energies just from being around the air of the organization and us. If we were to help guard you and be by your side, not only would you receive protection, but your Pokémon will also soon develop the same resistance with continued exposure to the combined powers of the four of us. As a matter of fact, they have some resistance already, just from being around the two of you," Ash explained.

"So you're saying that if we were to drive you away, or try to do so…" Sarah stopped, not relishing the thought.

Ash nodded. "Then you would die a very frightening death," he said.

Anabel looked at him, frightened. "No…no…this is too hard to believe…" she said, sinking down next to Raichu, who looked at her with surprising gentleness.

Ash looked at her with the same surprising gentleness. "I know you might think so, and I know that it's a lot to take in, but it's the reality of things," he said. He got up and sat next to her. "You can't trust me, right? I understand. After all, I just appeared out of the blue."

Anabel looked at Ash. She was initially taken by his angled features, but shook it off. "Trying to read me? It won't work." At least Ash still seemed clueless about her feelings, despite his growth over the years.

"No. I can't trust you," Anabel said. Sarah nodded in agreement.

"I'm not surprised. As a matter of fact, I only knew that the hybrid had broken out just a few days ago, and the job to protect you two only came to me today. I'm just about as in the dark about things as your are. But I do know one thing. If they sent Leon to be a messenger boy, then something must be going on," Ash said.

"He's got a point. Leon has always been very strong, even in Pokémon battles and spirit. Even though he was an aura-user and I was a psychic, he was able to look past that," Sarah said.

"Did you guys travel together?" Ash asked.

"For a time," Sarah said. She looked away, feeling like she had said too much.

Ash sniffed. "In any case, are you satisfied?" he asked.

Anabel looked at him. "Are you really telling the truth?" she asked.

She half- expected him not to answer. Instead, Ash turned his now piercing gaze at her. When he looked at her like that, she felt like he could see all her secrets, including her darkest ones. "Tell me, Anabel…what do you think? Look into my eyes. Put your hand on my chest. Use your empathy. I won't try to block you," he said.

Anabel looked into his eyes and heart, and through them, his feelings. They were shadowed, unlike the ones she remembered. They held the look of someone who had gone through a lot, and expected pain for his efforts. Pain, anger, and fear were evident at first glance. The Ash she knew was almost completely gone.

Then she saw it. A blue light that pierced the darkness in his eyes. This light held very different feelings. Regret. Hope. Loyalty. Determination. This was more like the Ash she knew. Even if he was lying, he would be loyal to what he believed was right. There was still some warmth in that eternal cold.

"I trust you," she stated simply. Sarah looked at her in surprise. "He's telling the truth, or at least what he believes to be the truth."

"I've already said that I would take the job, so even if you chose to not trust me, it would not have been easy to get rid of me. Now, I do have some terms. I have been on the move for a long time. I'll need a place to stay, and to train, and you must do the same for Leon," Ash said.

"Sarah and I live in a house with more than enough room for all four of us. But peek on us in the shower and you're going to get it," Anabel said, her voice holding no room for jokes or argument.

"Hmph. Agreed. We're also going to have to accompany you everywhere you go, excluding the bathroom, but we will be outside the door," Ash said. Anabel and Sarah glared at him. "It's for your own good."

"Fine," Sarah spat.

"One last thing. You guys will have to cook for us every now and again, and for at least two hours a day, we will put you through a training regimen to boost your powers, and your Pokémon training skills," Ash said.

"I thought you were here to protect us!" Sarah complained.

"If we fall, you will need to know how to defend yourself. Do you want to die helpless?" Ash asked.

"Do we have a choice?" Anabel asked.

"Not really, although we'll take it easy on the training at first and then we'll get progressively tougher," Ash said.

"Is that because we're girls?" Anabel demanded.

"That and it's because you guys are weaklings compared to some of the psychics I've seen," Ash said without a trace of hesitation.

"Fine," Anabel said through her teeth. She felt rather insulted. Sarah nodded, but not without a sharp glare to Ash.

"We have to leave now," Ash said.

"Already? But we just got here!" Sarah complained.

"We have to go. Just pack up your stuff, and then I'll help fly it back to Kanto," Ash said.

"But…" Anabel started.

"We don't have time to argue. Come on," Ash said. He left to give the girls some privacy. "I'm coming back in about half an hour."

_Later…_

At this moment, Ash and Anabel were flying back to Kanto on Charizard, while Sarah was flying on her Togekiss. Charizard was easily holding up the small amounts of bags that the girls had without any complaints. "Sorry about this, Charizard, but we're almost there," Ash said.

He was right. It wasn't long before the Battle Tower came into view. As they lighted down, they saw a figure in front of it. There was no mistaking the green outfit. "Leon!" Sarah exclaimed. She urged Togekiss to dive down faster. Togekiss seemed displeased, but followed its trainer's commands. At the moment Togekiss shot past Charizard, Ash got a sudden sense of foreboding. Something was terribly wrong, but what?

Leon smiled and raised his palm in greeting, flashing aura from his palms. That was the instant Ash realized it. "Sarah, hold on!" he roared. Swellow stopped just before entering the forest canopy. Sarah was glaring at Ash as Charizard flew to Togekiss's altitude.

"What? That's Leon! He must have come out to greet us!" Sarah said.

"Something's not right. I asked Leon to stay at base for a few weeks and then come here as a favor. If he's here, then something happened. No matter how fast his Aerodactyl is, there's no way he could have made it to base and then here that fast," Ash said. He then urged Charizard to land slowly, keeping his guard up as he got off, before helping Anabel to do so. Togekiss landed as well, and Sarah dismounted.

"My friends…what is the matter? Are you guys keeping secrets from me?" Leon said with a creepy grin. Ash and Raichu glanced at each other. Was Leon always this messed up? "Sarah, I would like to apologize for my earlier behavior."

"Apology accepted," Sarah spat.

"I doubt that. Now, can we have lunch? I'm starved," Leon said, turning around to face the Battle Tower.

"Y-yes. Of course," Anabel said. She wasn't sure what it was, but she felt that something was off about Leon as well. She shook it off and was about to walk in when Ash put an arm in front of her. When Sarah tried to do the same, Ash responded the same way. Both girls looked questioningly at the Aura Guardian, but Ash made a subtle shake of his head.

Leon had turned back now. "What's the matter, Ash? You look so grim," he said, laughing a laugh that seemed like more of a giggle.

Leon was_ giggling? _Something was definitely wrong, but Ash did not let these thoughts show on his face. "What are you doing here, Leon?" Ash asked.

Leon stopped smiling. "What do you mean? I'm here to help you with our job," he said, sounding confused.

"And remind me what our job was again?" Ash asked.

"You're so forgetful. It was to protect Anabel Cystal and Sarah…Eizenholt?" Leon asked, sounding a bit unsure.

"Maybe, but you've refreshed my memory. Still, you're forgetting something, too. It's Anabel _Crystallium _and Sarah _Isecolt_," Ash corrected, putting emphasis on the last names.

Leon gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "Whatever. Can we eat now?" He sounded like he was whining.

Ash walked forward, his right hand beginning to spark with blue energy. "I asked you to do a favor before you came here, Leon. Did you do it?" he asked.

Leon nodded. "Of course. You can trust me. I'm your friend, after all," he said.

Ash walked up to Leon's left shoulder and patted it with his left hand, grinning. "Yeah. And a good friend also reminds his friends about a few things. I'm having a bit of a short-term memory loss moment right now. What was the favor again?" he asked.

"To help you protect Anabel and Sarah, of course! Speaking of which, I can't believe you left me behind!" Leon laughed. Despite this, Anabel could now see the confusion in Leon's eyes. What was wrong with him?

Ash patted Leon's shoulder again, but this time his relaxed grin turned into a grim scowl, and he squeezed Leon's shoulder with his left hand. "Wrong answer!" Ash's right hand suddenly blazed with blue energy as he whipped it into Leon's stomach and blasted him with Aura. Leon's eyes widened as he was thrown back into the side of the Battle Tower. "Raichu! Charizard!" Both Pokémon were already attacking Leon with Thunderbolt and Flamethrower respectively, throwing up a cloud of dust.

"Ash! What are you doing?!" Sarah cried.

"That's not Leon!" Ash growled. The energy in his hand coalesced into a sword. He waited for a few moments. "Come on out! I know that wasn't even close to enough power to kill you!"

"Ash, above you!" Anabel shouted. Ash looked up to see "Leon" firing a blast of purple energy at him. He quickly leapt back, avoiding the attack and falling back to better protect Anabel and Sarah. The blast threw up another cloud of dust, which the Leon-lookalike landed in front of, grinning maniacally.

"Drop the disguise. It won't work," Ash growled.

Instantly, the lookalike was bathed in a purple energy. When it cleared, a young man was standing before. His face was layered in scars, and he was wearing black and purple clothes. He had long, dark hair, and his eyes and grin were as insane as before, if not more so.

"Who is that?!" Sarah cried.

"I am your worst nightmare! I was hoping to wait until later, but it's much more fun when the opponent fights back!" the man cackled. One of his hands blazed with purple aura, thick and dense. His other hand also blazed with purple energy, but it was brighter and much more thinly spread out.

"He's the hybrid that I told you about. His name is Vigo Sinera! He used shape shifting, an advanced technique of telekinesis!" Ash said.

"Well, well, aren't you the knowledgeable one! I'm going to take my revenge now! I think that the end of this hunt shall satisfy me nicely!" Vigo laughed, licking his lips!

Anabel and Sarah were trembling in fear before Vigo's power. Both of them could feel it. Although he was obviously insane, Vigo was ferociously powerful. Vigo caught sight of their trembling. Anabel was especially scared. Those eyes that Vigo had…they were bringing up horrible memories.

"Don't worry, ladies! I plan on taking my own sweet time with _you_. Don't worry, I'll keep you alive for a time! Besides, I plan on having some fun with you before I kill you!" His insane gazed focused on Anabel. "You seem to be more experienced in the methods of my…desires. I think that I'll keep you alive the longest!"

Anabel screamed in terror, and this awoke something in Ash. A terrible rage, something that he had not felt for a long time. Blue aura seemed to erupt out of him. **"YOU WILL NEVER EVEN LAY A FINGER ON HER! NEVER! I'LL MAKE SURE OF IT!" **he roared in a inhumanly deep and booming voice. He rushed forward, his sword blazing with aura. With amazing speed, his sword slashed at Vigo. Vigo quickly blasted him away with a burst of psychic energy, but Ash did not fall. Instead, he simply slid back on his feet, continuing to stand. His eyes were filled with pure rage.

"Excellent! Excellent! You've certainly improved! Very well, then! I'll fight you, and I'll enjoy it!" Vigo levitated himself. "Shall we begin?"

"I'd like nothing more," Ash growled, his voice eerily calm. He rushed forward once more, his sword poised to kill.

**And that's it! Ash has gained insane amounts of power, but will he defeat Vigo? And what did Anabel remember? Find out next time! **

**Leave a comment below if you so wish, but remember that good reviews keep me motivated and bad reviews leave me pissed off. Don't become a troll. **


	4. Insanity

**Enjoy Chapter 4. **

"You are going to die here, Vigo," Ash growled as the two clashed.

Vigo laughed. "Is that so? Bring it on, Aura Guardian! It took an entire squadron of you to seal me away once before, and now, standing in my way, there is just you. You can't even hold a candle to me!"

"I'm stronger now. I'll tear you apart!" Ash roared as Vigo parried his sword. Raichu and Charizard were firing intermittent attacks at Vigo, and it wasn't long before Vigo grew tired of it.

"What nuisances your Pokémon are! I'll make sure that this battle goes undisturbed!" Vigo threw an entire belt of six Poke Balls. As they made contact with the ground, they burst open, revealing a Seviper, a Kabutops, a Honchkrow, a Pinsir, a Mismagius, and a Houndoom. "Attack!" Vigo's six Pokémon charged at Raichu and Charizard, but were quickly confronted by the appearance of Ash's other Pokémon. Sceptile, Glalie, Feraligatr, and Gallade stood alongside their comrades, and all of them were ready to fight.

"Get inside, girls!" Ash yelled at Sarah and Anabel, who were still outside for some reason. Anabel seemed paralyzed, but Sarah quickly grabbed her arm and brought her towards the Battle Tower's entrance.

Vigo sneered. "Oh, no, you don't!" He fired a blast of purple energy at them. Sceptile and Gallade reactedreflexively, with Gallade using Psycho Cut to divert the blast and Sceptile using Giga Drain to literally suck up the blast's energy. The two Pokémon exchanged a quick grin before re-engaging Kabutops and Mismagius.

"So, with your growth, your Pokémon grew with you! I certainly am impressed! As a token of that, I'll scatter their bones around your grave!" Vigo shouted.

Ash's pupils dilated, and he roared with anger, his attacks growing faster and faster. His Aura Sword flashed as it was swung at Vigo, as if it were shining with glee at being activated. From the windows, Anabel and Sarah watched the battle.

"Wow…Vigo is so strong…and Ash is going toe-to-toe with him! I can see why you have a crush on him, Anabel!" Sarah said, looking at her friend. Her face morphed into one of concern when she saw Anabel's expression. "What's wrong?"

"It's Vigo…his mind is so warped and twisted. This is beyond insanity! He's not even human anymore! He's just a puppet…a monster, even!" Anabel breathed. She sank to her knees.

A grim frown took place on Sarah's face; it was an expression far different from her cheery smile. She knew just how Anabel defined the word "monster." Considering the events that happened two years ago, it was not at all surprising that Anabel would have read Vigo's mind and immediately compared it to that of a monster. She knelt down beside her and hugged Anabel as Ash and Vigo continued to clash, along with their Pokémon. As Anabel had said, Ash and Vigo were more or less even. However, it was slightly different for the Pokémon. Ash's Pokémon all knew how to exploit the opponent's weaknesses, even without their trainer telling them how to do so.

Raichu's speed and power were equal to Houndoom's, but thanks to another Fire-Type that had nearly the same attributes, Raichu was quite experienced in dealing with those problems. Houndoom, on the other hand, had only dealt with Pokémon weaker than itself, and was therefore finding Raichu to be much more of a challenge than it was used to. At the moment, the two were clashing with Iron Tail, but thanks to Raichu's much more maneuverable size, it was able to find a weakness in Houndoom's attack pattern. Using that weakness, Raichu slid under an Iron Tail from its opponent and under the hound's belly. A single, powerful Thunder dispatched it.

Charizard and Honchkrow were dueling in the air. It was actually quite a battle, considering the combatants. The dark bird was agile, and its Dark Pulse did not seem like something that even Charizard wanted to take a direct hit from. Charizard was almost outmatched in speed. However, its power far exceeded Honchkrow's. For Charizard, there were always moments in battle where an enemy would get close enough for a powerful attack to bring it down in one blow. Charizard, despite being nearly outclassed in speed, was able to find and exploit those moments even against a tough opponent like Honchkrow. A couple of Flamethrowers reduced Honchkrow to a badly charred hunk of bird.

Back on the ground, Feraligatr and Pinsir were having a little wrestling match. Feraligatr knew it had to be careful. There was a good chance that Pinsir knew Guillotine. No matter how powerful Feraligatr was, there was no way it could resist a one-hit KO attack. However, this Pinsir didn't seem to be too smart. It used X-Scissor, Superpower, and Submission in random movements, and all of them were physical attacks. Feraligatr could easily keep it at bay with Surf and Ice Beam. If it needed to fight at close range, Waterfall was an option. As expected, the Pinsir grew enraged, and it finally went all out. It rushed at Feraligatr with Guillotine. The crocodile growled, shaking its head before blasting Pinsir with Ice Beam. The stag beetle was frozen for a few seconds until a powerful Hydro Cannon knocked it out.

Nearby, an unusual matchup was going on. Sceptile and Mismagius were clashing. The giant lizard had hardly ever battled a Ghost-Type before, so this was very interesting to it. Mismagius fired Shadow Balls in rapid succession, but they almost all missed due to Sceptile's agility. However, they did throw up clouds of dust, and Sceptile soon found itself unable to see Mismagius anymore. Before long, a Dark Pulse struck it from behind. Sceptile lashed around with Leaf Blade, but the attack missed, and another Dark Pulse hit Sceptile. The lizard dropped to one knee and forced itself to calm down and focus. It closed its eyes, and its breathing slowed down. Instead of relying on sight, Sceptile decided to use its other senses. After a few seconds, it could the slow whoosh of air that was characteristic of a ghost appearing out of something. Sceptile quickly activated Giga Drain and thrust the tendrils into the dust behind it. The tendrils caught, and Sceptile dragged the struggling Mismagius into its eyesight. Sceptile's eyes were full of triumph as Mismagius' energy drained away. After Giga Drain resolved, it only took one Leaf Blade to knock out the ghost.

Glalie was not taking it easy on Seviper. Having battled Jessie of Team Rocket's Seviper a few times before, as well as having sparred with many powerful Poison-Type Pokémon, it knew what Seviper was capable of. Though it had an easy aerial advantage, Seviper was a snake, and therefore quite fast. Glalie, after dancing around Seviper's Poison Fang and Poison Tail, and getting poisoned regardless, decided to go all out. Glalie disappeared into the forest with Seviper following, but the snake soon lost sight of Glalie. As Seviper looked around, confused, Glalie erupted out of the bushes with a Headbutt, and disappeared into the other side before Seviper could recover. Once the snake did recover, Glalie attacked again. This process was repeated at an amazing rate thanks to Glalie bouncing around the trees. Before long, Seviper was done.

Gallade and Kabutops were having a very nice duel. The two Pokémon were both agile and had blades for arms. Although Kabutops did have less attack options due to the fact that its arms were scythes, the two still fought evenly. Kabutops even threw in a Hydro Pump to liven things up. Still, what it didn't know was that Gallade was holding back. Gallade was hoping to find in Kabutops an opponent that he could take pride in defeating. Gallade's comrades were among that special group, and any Pokémon within the teams of the Elite Four and the Champions were also part of it. Of course, Gallade's true rival was definitely more worthwhile than any of those Pokémon. On the other hand, Gallade's complete analysis of the skills of Kabutops made him realize that Kabutops, while quite impressive for a lower-level Pokémon, did not fit Gallade's criteria. This in mind, Gallade went all out. Kabutops was completely taken by surprise when Gallade took one of its Slash attacks, but it didn't even have time to show it, as Gallade attacked with a super-effective Close Combat and mixed it with Night Slash, making it that much more effective. For the coup de grace, Gallade switched from Night Slash to Psycho Cut. Kabutops hardly put up a challenge.

While his Pokémon won their fights with relative ease, Ash was struggling against Vigo. Vigo looked around and saw his fallen Pokémon. "Tch…they lost, eh? How pathetic," he said.

"You'll be joining in their defeat," Ash growled. Despite his brave words, it was obvious that he was tiring. His eyes were still full of rage, but his face was glistening with sweat, and he was beginning to pant. His strikes and parries were getting weaker, and his sword was not glowing as brightly as before.

"You are losing. Just give up already," Vigo sighed. Ash snarled and released a multitude of fast strikes. However, Vigo merely put up a shield of psychic energy, preventing any of the attacks from getting through. The energy from the flurry created a cloud of dust, and while Vigo could not see through it, he dropped the shield after not feeling any attacks for a while.

Vigo stood within the cloud, on his guard. Where was Ash? The damn boy was actually skilled enough to hide his aura from a master like Vigo? Suddenly, Vigo felt it, and instantaneously reacted, his hand grabbing out behind him.

There was a rather large explosion of bright energy in which Anabel, Sarah, and the returning Pokémon had to avert their eyes. When it got dark enough to see again, the sight that greeted them was a sight that none of the spectators could believe.

Vigo had grabbed Ash's sword with his bare hands. He wasn't even using his psychic or Aura powers. There was no purple energy, and yet the sword did not lop off a part of Vigo's hand like it should have. Even though Ash had swung from behind with both hands, even though there was a steady stream of blood coming from Vigo's palm, Ash's sword could not budge under Vigo's grip.

"A sneak attack, eh? For an organization built upon honor, you certainly have some underhanded tactics," Vigo mused.

"Shut up!" Ash growled, struggling to move his sword. Vigo grinned and threw Ash's sword over his head, slamming Ash down into the ground with enough force to crack it. Ash cried out in pain. This sequence was repeated several times, with Ash's cries growing weaker. Finally, Vigo hurled Ash into the side of the Battle Tower, just as Ash had done to him less than an hour ago.

"Ash!" Anabel cried. His Pokémon cried out as well for their trainer.

"What's going on? Ash is tiring, but Vigo seems to be as fresh as ever!" Sarah asked.

Vigo turned his gaze on the two girls. "He does not have an energy source. That one is suffering from intense regret. 'Why aren't I stronger?' he asks. 'Why am I losing, no matter how strong I've gotten since the last time I fought him?' Ha! He does not understand! My power is infinite!"

"Infinite, you say?" Ash struggled to his feet and stood before Vigo. His sword was surprisingly still active. "There is nothing in this world that is infinite. If I can't kill you, then I'll drain every bit of energy out from your 'infinite' energy source," he growled.

Vigo's grin grew more feral. "Is that so?" Suddenly, he was right in front of Ash. The younger Guardian had no time to react as Vigo kneed him in the stomach. As Ash doubled over, Vigo brought his fists down on Ash's back before punching him in the face. Ash was thrown back, and Vigo rushed up to him before spin-kicking him. "As you can see, I am superior to you every aspect of battle. Strategy, energy, and hand-to-hand." He cocked his head, his neck making a cracking noise. "This grows tiresome. I think I'll end it now." Verso flew up and hovered there, creating a field of energy to stand on. He raised a hand, charging up purple energy. "I'll annihilate you all, and everything within a mile of here!"

"Don't do it! If you do, then you'll kill your Pokémon, too!" Ash cried.

"That's the difference between you and me. Your Pokémon are friends, but mine are nothing but peons. I have no qualms about eliminating them. I can just get more Pokémon to serve me!" Vigo laughed.

Ash gritted his teeth. "Sorry, Vigo! That's never going to happen! I'll destroy you here and now!" he declared, vaporizing his sword and charging its energy along with a lot of extra aura in his hands.

"A showdown, eh?! Well, then, I suppose I can oblige you!" Vigo added his other hand into the charging process. For a while, the two opponents stood in their positions, building up their attacks. After a few seconds, Vigo fired a dense blast of purple energy. "This ends now!"

"I don't think so!" Ash fired a blast of blue aura that met with Vigo's blast. For a few seconds, the two blasts seemed evenly matched. However, Vigo had put psychic energy as well as aura into his attack, and it soon began pushing Ash's blast back.

"Damn it!" Ash put more focus into his blast, but all it did was slow down Vigo's attack.

Ash's Pokémon went on the offensive against Vigo, firing Thunder, Blizzard, Blast Burn, Frenzy Plant, Focus Blast, and Hydro Cannon. Vigo looked at them contemptuously. "Don't interfere!" With a single thought, razor-sharp winds cut through the attacks and knocked the Pokémon out.

"Guys!" Ash cried. With his slight lack of focus, Vigo's attack grew ever closer.

"Truly, you are a fool, and a weakling! I'm surprised Aura Psychicorum sent such a frail agent to protect someone as valuable as the Lilac Maiden!" Vigo taunted.

"Lilac Maiden?" Ash asked.

Vigo laughed. "Oops, silly me! I've said too much! But it doesn't matter! You'll die here!" He pushed harder, and his blast almost overcame Ash's.

"Damn…is this my limit?" Ash wondered. He was pushing with all his might, but Vigo was completely overpowering him. For all his brave words before, Ash was beginning to lose hope. Maybe it was impossible. His Pokémon were fallen, and he was about to die, along with the very girl he had sworn to protect. "Damn it!"

"Not yet!" Ash looked up just as he was about to give in. Vigo, Anabel, and Sarah looked up as well. That voice was familiar to all of them. Riding on an Aerodactyl was a green-clad figure. The bright shine of charging green Aura confirmed his identity.

"It's Leon! The real Leon!" Sarah cried. Anabel knew that her friend was right, thanks to her telepathy. Vigo disguised as Leon still held an insane mind, but this Leon was confident and cool, even though he was in pain.

Anabel couldn't help feeling worried. "What happened to him? He's hurt…" Sarah looked at her in surprise.

Despite Anabel's concerns, Leon was all confidence as he fired a moderately powerful green energy attack at Vigo. Vigo was still surprised at Leon's appearance, and so had little time to react. The green blast struck, and Vigo flinched, his blast losing energy just for an instant.

Ash took his chance. With a roar, he pushed against Vigo's blast and completely enveloped it with his own. The ferocious blue aura blast soon reached Vigo, and though he tried to flee, he found himself helpless as the blast consumed him. The aura guardian and psychic screamed as he felt a horrible burning pain all around him. Ash put all he had into the blast, and Vigo had no more fight left. It was too late to do anything, and his insane mind couldn't exactly summon up the focus to block the full brunt of the attack.

Surprisingly, Vigo kept his form even after the blast had dissipated. The once powerful fighter was now helpless, a burned-out husk of what he once was, lying on the ground. Ash, on the other hand, was still standing, and though it would take a few days to recover from all that expended energy, it was obvious he was the victor.

"You lose, Vigo," Ash said, limping toward Anabel and Sarah, who had stepped out from the Battle Tower.

"Ash…you did it!" Anabel said, hugging him.

"I didn't do it alone," Ash replied, looking at his Pokémon, and then at Leon, who had alighted on his Aerodactyl.

Leon looked sad as he gazed at Aerodactyl. The bat itself looked frighteningly tired, as if it had used up the last bit of its energy just to get here. "I'm sorry to put you through that, buddy," Leon said, stroking its comb. Aerodactyl squawked lightly, rubbing its head against its trainer's face. With a smile, Leon returned it to its Poke Ball. "Get some rest."

"Leon! What are you doing here?" Sarah asked. Leon gazed at her and was about to answer when a cough from the fallen Vigo sounded.

"How sweet…a happy reunion! I suppose I should stop it!" Vigo hurled a small burst of Aura at Anabel, his last bit of energy. Ash reacted quickly, charging up as much Aura in his hand as he could in that single instant and deflecting the attack with it. Of course, while the damage was lessened, Ash took the brunt of the shot nonetheless, as he could not charge up enough Aura in time to minimize it. Though he had a high threshold for pain, Ash cried out loud. His hand had been severely burned.

Vigo grinned…and the grin ended up fixed on his face when both Ash and Leon fired beams of Aura at his chest. The attacks pierced his heart with no suffering, and Vigo's life was severed.

"Heh…I told him he would die here," Ash rasped.

Leon grinned as he saw the heavy bruises and harsh cuts on Ash's face. "You look all the worse for wear. To think that you were as fit as a fiddle just a few hours ago." Leon started to walk, but failed as he collapsed to his knees. It was then that the others noticed that he had heavy wounds as well. There was blood on the ground where he kneeled.

"Leon! What happened to you?" Sarah asked.

Leon kept grinning, although he held an arm across his chest. "Damn…it opened up. All that stress…really had a bad effect."

"What are you doing here, Leon? I though I told you to remain on standby," Ash growled.

Leon shook his head. "That's no longer an option," he said.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked.

Leon grinned again. "I'll be glad to tell you…" His eyes grew droopy. "…After I take a nap." With that, he fell unconscious.

"Leon!" Sarah rushed up to him. Ash tried to struggle after her, but soon found that he had lost all feeling in his legs.

"Ash?" Anabel asked, looking at him with those beautiful worried eyes. Beautiful? Ash shook his head. When was the last time he found a girl truly beautiful? But Anabel was different. He didn't know why, but she just was.

Those were his last thoughts before everything went black.

**Well…this was certainly an interesting chapter to write. Please leave a comment below. **


	5. Past

**I know I said that Sarah would have the team that she had in the first story, but I made some changes. **

**Oh, and for all you older Pokémon fans, there is a scene in this chapter that closely mirrors one in the anime, as well as a probably unknown character from the anime. I don't own either of them. **

**Shall we begin?**

Anabel and Sarah had called in a doctor that operated nearby, but in the probable interest of Ash and Leon, did not tell anyone else. This doctor was a physician for people, and while the two girls had some basic medical supplies at the Battle Tower, they felt that it would be necessary to call in professional help, since the wounds did look rather deadly.

The doctor arrived promptly, even though he was off duty. "You two owe me a date," he joked upon arrival.

Anabel glared at him. "Not now, Dr. Proctor. Your patients are in here," she said. Dr. Proctor followed Anabel and Sarah into the Battle Tower. While the good doctor would have liked to enjoy the inside, the two girls wasted no time in pushing him into the elevator.

Proctor sighed. "So, can you tell me anything about the problem?"

"The two have possibly life-threatening wounds. We bandaged them as best we could when we got them into the Battle Tower, but the blood just keeps flowing…" Anabel said, her hands over her chest.

"I see," Proctor said as the elevator stopped. He followed the girls down into a room and instantly took note of the two boys lying on the beds. One of them seemed somehow familiar. "What happened to them?"

"They…got into a fight," Sarah said. She seemed like she was hiding something.

"Can I have their names?" Proctor asked.

Anabel and Sarah glanced at each other. "I think they would prefer not to have their names given away…" Anabel murmured.

Dr. Proctor smiled. "What? Are they criminals?" he asked. His smile turned into a frown when he saw the two girls exchange glances again. "Wait. Don't tell me they're actually…"

Anabel shook her head rapidly. "No, but…oh, forget this. Their names are Leon Firesect…" She pointed to the first boy. "And Ash Ketchum." She pointed at the boy who was now familiar for a reason.

"Ash Ketchum? Isn't he that missing boy?" Proctor asked.

"He doesn't want to be found, so please don't tell anyone, doctor," Sarah said.

"He helped me out a number of years ago with a Pokémon treating operation. If it wasn't for him and his friends, I wouldn't have started a dual job of healing people and Pokémon," Proctor explained. This was the other reason that the girls called in Proctor. Ash's Pokémon had sustained injuries from Vigo's attacks, and when Sarah brought Leon's Pokémon out for inspection due to worry caused by the condition of Leon's Staraptor, she found that all of Leon's Pokémon were in a similar condition. Proctor could help.

"Speaking of which, can you heal their Pokémon, too?" Anabel asked, gesturing at the group of Pokémon that lay bandaged and unconscious on the floor.

"You gotta be kidding me…" Proctor groaned.

_Later…_

Ash's eyes snapped open. The first thing he saw was a dark ceiling. Judging from that, it was nighttime. Had he really been unconscious for that long? He sat up, holding his head in an attempt to lessen the headache. That accursed Vigo…Ash seethed just by thinking of him. Just then, he was aware of a weight on his bed. He looked down to see Anabel, sleeping with her face buried into her arms. For a few moments, his eyes filled with regret. In that position, she looked like the picture of innocence. And he couldn't protect it.

He was taken out of his reverie by Anabel's stirring. Instead of instantly running away like he normally would, Ash simply waited for the girl to awaken. Anabel blinked her bleary eyes at Ash, and the next moment, her arms were around him and her face was buried in his shoulder.

"You're awake…and alive…thank Arceus…" She repeated these words like a mantra. Ash's face turned very red.

"T-t-t-too close…" he stammered. For all his maturity, Ash was still rather weak-hearted when in this close proximity with a girl. Anabel seemed to realize the position they were, and broke away, her face as red as Ash's, before she went to turn on the lights.

"I'm sorry," she said.

Ash smiled. "Don't worry about it. Where's Leon?" Anabel pointed to the bed where the green-clad Aura Guardian lay. Sarah was watching over him…or rather, she was. She was asleep in the position that Anabel was in.

"All your Pokémon and Leon's are on the floor, sleeping on mats. Doctor Proctor treated you all," Anabel said. Ash followed her gaze to where the doctor was kneeling next to Leon's Infernape. The doctor turned to Ash, and the young boy instantly recognized that face.

"It's been too long, doctor," he said.

Proctor smiled. "Yeah, Ash. How have you been?" he asked.

"If it wasn't for you, I'd be feeling worse than I do now. How much is this going to cost?" Ash asked.

Proctor shook his head. "I still owe you for helping me with my calling. Thanks to you and your friends, I can now handle twice the amount of patients to heal. It's quite fun," he laughed.

"Thanks, doc. And, I need a favor," Ash said, his face growing serious. "Please do not tell any of my friends that you met me here."

"Why's that?" Proctor asked.

"I have my reasons," Ash said, looking away. The doctor decided not to pry.

"You and your Pokémon should all be fine with some rest. Are all of them yours?" Proctor asked.

"No. Some of them are Leon's." Sarah surprised them. She was wide-awake, but her face was serious.

"Yes…Leon Firesect. He's taken some harsher wounds. He'll probably be unconscious for a few hours more. Judging from what I've seen, he and his Pokémon probably fought something or someone that eventually overwhelmed them," Proctor said.

"Wow…someone who can overwhelm Leon…I'd better be careful," Ash said.

"You can leave now, Dr. Proctor. Just send us the bill," Anabel said. The doctor nodded, and some security guards escorted him out.

Sarah turned back to Leon, and both Anabel and Ash could feel the tenderness that she was feeling towards him. But there was also a longing, a regret. "The two of you…have a past together," Anabel said.

Sarah whipped around, her mouth open to deny Anabel's claim, but Ash raised his hand. "There's no point. Tell us the story, Sarah. It usually helps, and trust me, I know. Something happened between you two. Were you guys dating and then got into a big fight, resulting in a breakup?" he asked.

"Ash!" Anabel smacked him. "Don't be so rude!"

"No, he's partially right. We weren't dating, but there was a big fight. When we were ten or so, Leon and I started training under a rogue Aura Guardian and psychic hybrid…

_Flashback…_

_A younger Leon was standing in a grove, surrounded by trees. His eyes were closed, and his body still. He stood there for a few minutes before a leaf floated gently past him. His eyes snapped open, and his hand flared up with green energy for an instant before he hurled it at the direction that the leaf had come from. _

_A girl's voice cried out as the ball struck the tree she was in. The next second, she was falling out of the tree. "Ow!" she complained, rubbing her bottom before glaring at Leon. "Leon! You could have killed me!" _

_Leon raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Killed you? You know I would never dream of hurting you, Sarah," he said mockingly before walking over and offering her his hand. _

_Sarah smiled. "Gotcha!" A flurry of twigs and branches cloaked in pink energy flew at Leon. However, the young Aura-user put up a shield of green Aura, deflecting the attack. After lowering his shield, Leon leaned down close to her face, the ever-wry smile present. _

"_I'm not that easily surprised," he breathed. Sarah blushed before slapping him. _

"_I had expected this outcome." A new voice broke into the clearing. Leon quickly withdrew his head as their master entered the fray. "Leon, you really must stop distracting Sarah like this," he sighed. _

_Leon shrugged. "Come on, Master Averill. I can't help it. She's just…so pretty," he mused. _

_Sarah stood up and dusted herself off before glaring at Leon. "Leon…" she warned. Leon didn't even glance at her. _

_Averill sighed. "Regardless, both of you did fine. This training session, though, still produced the same results. Leon, you only rely on your instincts. You must take into account your Aura senses as well. The only reason that you were able to sense Sarah was because she is as of yet unskilled in hiding her presence." Sarah gave her master an indignant glare, which he ignored, instead opting to criticize her as well. "You as well, Sarah. Work on masking your presence. Leon is especially careful in exchange for weaker senses. You will need to take him when he is least on guard. As you are a psychic and Leon an Aura-user, the two of you need to defend not only yourselves from the crowds, but each other as well." _

"_I can protect Sarah. I don't know if she can protect me," Leon said. _

"_Leon, do not be so arrogant. The two of you are only ten years old. There will come a time when you will need to trust her as well," Averill said. _

_Leon sighed. "I don't see why I have to trust her. She can't save my hide in battle," he said. _

"_In battle, she may be inferior to you, but may you remind me, who is the one who always aces my written exams?" Averill asked. Leon stiffened. All three of them knew that it was Sarah. "Her knowledge of these matters far surpasses yours, Leon. It may save your life sometime." Averill walked out of the clearing. _

_Sarah looked at Leon. The boy's face was impassive. "Leon?" _

"_If there was anything that I might have said or done to hurt you, sorry," Leon said. _

"_No…you're right. I am inferior to you in battle. Still, Master Averill said it himself. I do know more," Sarah replied, smiling. _

"_Don't remind me," Leon growled, but his eyes showed laughter as well. The two began to walk out of the clearing. _

"_By the way…" Sarah started. _

"_Yeah?" _

_Sarah flung a handful of a Parasect's Sleep Powder into Leon's face. "I'm better at tricks too…" _

_Leon's eyes grew droopy, but he still maintained his smile. "You… crazy girl…" was what he said before he blacked out. _

_End flashback… _

Ash burst out laughing. "Oh, man! You threw Sleep Powder into his face? I'm going to get a lot of blackmail mileage out of this one!" Anabel and Sarah looked at him oddly.

"I was ten at the time, jerk." Leon's voice rang out in the room. The other three turned around to see Leon looking at them.

"Leon! You're awake!" Sarah raced over to his bed before remembering the image she was supposed to put up, and turned her face away.

To her surprise, however, Leon reached up and caressed her cheek. She was about to pull away until she saw his face. Relief and happiness, two things that were almost never seen on Leon's face, were there at the very moment.

"You're alive…" Leon whispered. Tears began to leak out of his eyes as he sat up, keeping his hand on her cheek. "I couldn't really believe it at first…but I can see now…how could I forget that doll-like face?"

Sarah began to cry as well, her hand reaching up to hold Leon's. "Doll-like, huh? You stupid…all these years and you're still trying to flirt with me? You truly are…a stupid idiot!" She threw herself into Leon's arms, crying on Leon's shoulder. "Jerk. Bastard. Coward."

"And the list...goes on and on…" Leon murmured, pulling her closer.

Ash and Anabel looked at each other. "We should give them some time alone," Anabel said. Ash nodded solemnly, and they left.

As they left, Leon and Sarah pulled away. "Can I see them, Sarah? Buneary, Vulpix, and Trapinch? You've already seen what my Pokémon from Master have become." He turned away then, as if ashamed to ask such a silly question.

Sarah laughed, a joyous, melodically pleasing laugh that Leon had not heard in years. "Ashamed, Leon? Of course you can," She flicked open three Poke Balls, revealing a Lopunny, a Ninetales, and a Flygon. Leon's eyes widened. They were in prime condition, perfectly groomed for battle. However, they were breathtakingly beautiful. Lopunny's ears and fur were perfectly groomed, so it looked like its ears fell down like fine hair. Ninetales's fur was so polished that it appeared glossy, and those crimson eyes were shining. Flygon's scales were the same condition as Ninetales's fur. And the fact that they were all female only served to increase their beautiful appearance.

"Do you remember him, my dears?" Sarah asked. It went without asking. All three Pokémon recognized Leon on sight. "His Pokémon are here as well." Sarah pointed at Infernape, Luxray, and Drapion. The three females walked over to the males, concerned at their condition.

"They're so beautiful…like you," Leon said.

Sarah looked back at him. "Well, all of them always did have a penchant for looking good, Leon. And your Pokémon always did care about looking strong. And they succeeded," she said.

Leon did not reply, but looked back at her. "I just have one question."

"How I survived," Sarah guessed.

"I recall that day…it has never left my mind." Leon struggled out of bed, while Sarah made a move to try to support him. "Don't worry. I can walk." Regardless, Sarah stayed close to him as they left the room.

They found Ash and Anabel seated in opposite chairs in the main part of the floor. True to form, Anabel was sitting down politely with her hands folded, even though it was her Battle Tower, while Ash simply slouched on the armrest, looking bored to tears.

"You feeling better?" Ash asked.

"I'm going to get you back for earlier," Leon said.

Ash grinned. "Yeah, you're fine," he said before his face grew more serious. "And you interrupted a seriously good story. What happened?"

"Why we separated, eh?" Leon and Sarah sat next to each other on the couch between the two chairs. Leon's face became unusually grim. Like Sarah, he preferred an easygoing face. "It all began when Master finally lost his mind."

Ash and Anabel had been wondering about that. Considering what they saw of Vigo, it was surprising that Averill was sane. "There is a reason why Aura Guardians and Psychics are forbidden to share their powers. For some reason, if they mate with each other, their resulting offspring will have complete control over powers that would completely destroy a normal person. That, or the offspring will turn out to be powerless. However, in Vigo and Master Averill's case, where an Aura Guardian took the powers of a Psychic, the guardian inevitably goes mad. It may take some years, or it may happen instantaneously, but it happens nonetheless," Leon explained.

"For Master Averill, it happened years after he absorbed a powers of a Psychic that he had defeated. He was one of the lucky ones," Sarah said. "But when it finally happened…we were helpless. He didn't even recognize his own students."

_Flashback…_

"_It's not fair…I still can't beat you," Sarah complained with a pout. _

"_You had good strategy this time, at least. Still, there's no way you can beat me in the art of battle," Leon teased. _

"_You don't have to remind me…" Sarah sighed._

"_Come on. It was a good Pokémon battle. If we were to be attacked, you would help me, right?" Leon asked._

"_Yeah, but…is it really okay for Master to give us his Pokémon? Buneary, Vulpix, and Trapinch aren't used to me yet," Sarah commented. _

"_Chimchar, Shinx, and Skorupi feel the same. A Pokémon trainer needs to show his Pokémon that he not only wants to win with his Pokémon, but that he cares about their victories as well. I'm not there yet, and neither are you. Give it time. They'll warm up to you," Leon said._

_Sarah looked at him in surprise. "When did you learn that?"_

_Leon shrugged. "Call it instinct."_

_The two walked in silence back to the camp, where Averill was waiting for them, his back to them. "We're back, Master," Sarah called. Averill did not respond. "What do you want to eat for dinner?" Sarah asked, heading to her usual station at the cooking pot. However, Leon, deeply suspicious, held her back with a restraining hand on her shoulder. _

"_Something's wrong," he whispered. Sarah stopped and looked at Averill. He was beginning to convulse. It was then that Sarah began to feel the first stages of trepidation. _

"_Master? What's wrong?" she asked._

"_Grr…Leon…Sarah…take my Pokémon and run!" Averill struggled out before his hands closed over his head, and he began to scream. Even Sarah was beginning to sense that something was wrong with Averill's mind. _

"_Master! What's going on?!" Leon asked. _

_Averill did not answer. However, his fists became cloaked in the form that both Leon and Sarah knew only too well. "Aura Fists…" Sarah whispered._

"_Sarah! He's not himself!" Leon said just as Averill rushed up to him with amazing speed. Leon was barely able to react in time. _

_A cloud of dust was thrown up upon contact. Before long, Leon leapt out of it with Sarah under his left arm. In his right arm was a green spear made of Aura. "The Aura Spear…you've mastered it?" Sarah asked._

"_I can't use it as well as I want to, but there's no time for regrets!" Leon said as they landed. He then began to race through the forest. _

"_Master's gone mad. It happens to Aura Guardians who take Psychics' powers, or vice versa. In this state, there is no return. Enemies stay as such, but friends become the same. The only way to stop them is to bring them under your control, which is nigh impossible," Sarah recited._

"_There's no way to save them?" Leon asked._

_Sarah hesitated before answering. "…No."_

_Still, Leon realized the true meaning. "I see." Sarah gasped in realization. He knew. No matter how she tried to hide things from him, Leon always seemed to know. _

"_So…you're going to…" Sarah began to ask._

"_I have no choice, Sarah. I don't care if he is our master; he's not going to kill us. I'll make sure of it. Besides, the pupil must surpass the master sometime," Leon growled. He stopped at the edge of a large field and put her down. It had begun to rain. "Run."_

"_No! I should fight him! If you fight him, you'll die!" Sarah cried. But she knew his answer already._

"_I will not risk both our lives. You do not have the conviction to fight him, Sarah, and both of us know it." Leon glared at her, steely determination in his eyes. "I will kill him." _

_Still, Sarah resisted. "I'm not leaving you, Leon! You're…you're my only friend! I promised myself that I would never let you down by running away!" she said._

_Leon was about to say something, but stopped and turned. Averill, or what used to be Averill, burst through the trees, his fists glowing with the dark purple energy that was evidence of an Aura Guardian that had gone mad because he had taken the power of a Psychic. _

"_He's coming. Just run!" Leon ordered. _

"_I refuse!" Sarah cried. Leon gritted his teeth before his hand flared up with green Aura. With a wave of his hand, he put up a green Aura shield specifically designed to keep Psychics out. Sarah was knocked back, and then she ran up to the wall, pounding on it. "Leon! Leon, stop this! You don't have to this!" The tears that she had been trying to hold back were flowing freely now, but she didn't care. _

_Leon smiled at her before walking to meet the charging force that was Averill. Their master stopped at the sight of his former student standing resolutely before him. _

_Leon began to monologue in a clear, carrying voice. "Master! Do you remember who I am?! My name is Leontus Firesect, your former student! Ever since you took Sarah and I on, I made two promises to myself! One was to surpass you!" Averill's eyes were now featureless, completely taken over by power. "The other was to protect Sarah!" Sarah stopped pounding. Did she hear what she thought she heard? _

"_I will the knight that saves the princess no matter what, so I can't be beaten by the likes of you!" Averill clenched his fists as Leon continued. "I am going to destroy you, master! You hear me?!" He then spoke to Sarah without looking at her. "Sarah, just get out of here, it's the only way!" His voice was so confident that Sarah, numb with surprise, just nodded. _

"_Come and get me!" Leon roared. Averill surged forward, his fists ready for battle. Sarah watched in awe as the two clashed, but her rational mind got the better of her. As soon as it became obvious that Averill was easily dominating Leon, she turned and ran. _

_Because of that, she did not see Leon rear up against the charging Averill for one last strike. However, she did hear Leon cry out her name one last time. "SARAH! RUN!" Then, she felt herself flying forward, an explosion of sheer energy resounding behind her. She was still flying when she felt a burning pain on her back. She didn't have time to scream before everything went black. _

_When Leon woke up, it was day. The rain had stopped. Groaning, he struggled to his knees and looked around. "U-uugh…I…won?" He shook his head. "No. I probably didn't. I'm just still alive." He looked around. The field had been ravaged. Neither Sarah nor Averill were nearby. Even when he broadened his senses, he could not detect them in the vicinity. "Farewell, Master Averill. And Sarah, I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I failed to protect you…and you died for it." Leon began to walk. To where, he did not know. There was nothing left for him. All he did as he walked was repeat, "Forgive me…forgive me…" over and over. _

_End flashback… _

"It was my fault, Sarah. You survived, I don't care how, but you survived. Still, you were probably hurt pretty badly," Leon said.

Sarah shook her head. "No. It was my fault. I wasn't strong enough to help you," she said, starting to put her hand on her shoulder, but then withdrawing her hand. She was surprised when Leon grabbed her hand, and then she began to blush when he turned his face to look at her with the same look as Ash's. It pierced her to her soul.

"It was my fault. I told you to run because I thought I could protect you. I was obviously wrong," Leon said.

"I'm only alive because you protected me. I woke up several miles away from the site of the fight. When I got back, you were gone. I knew that you would wait for me or try to find me if you thought I was alive, but you didn't come back, even after I stayed in the same spot for days," Sarah said.

At this, Leon's eyes grew wide. "Days? Are you mad? What were you thinking?" he asked. His tone was not friendly.

Sarah glared at him. "Well, excuse me for being worried about you," she snapped.

Leon glared back. "You should have been worried about yourself. If you had died, then I would have wasted my time," he said.

"Do you know how I felt, Leon? How desperate I was to find you? And now, you're even more of a jerk than before!" Sarah yelled.

"I'm not a knight, Sarah. I'm not even a guardian. I'm just a wandering mercenary with no honor. I've changed since then," Leon said.

"No, you haven't, Leon. I saw it when you woke up just now. You haven't changed a bit! And that's what I hate about you, then and now!" Sarah ran to the elevator. Before long, the others could hear the sound of the elevator going up.

Anabel glared at Leon. "Why did you do that? She was worried about you for four years, and you just put her down like that?" she asked.

Leon looked at her. "She had to realize that I've changed, Anabel. I'm different. I've fallen from a guardian to a lowlife," he spat.

"If you're calling yourself a lowlife, then you hate it, too! She was right, Leon! From what I've heard about your past and what I see now, you haven't changed a bit!" Anabel exclaimed.

"What do you know, Anabel? You don't know me at all," Leon growled.

"Yeah, but I do," Ash said. Leon turned his gaze on him. "You still have something we call honor, Leon. It's faint, but it's there. I'll guess that once you saw Sarah again, you began to revert to your old self."

"Then how do I stop it?" Leon asked.

"You don't. You welcome it," Anabel said. Leon flinched. "She cares about you, Leon. And you still care about her. I don't know what this organization did to your feelings, but both of you went freelance to get your friendships back, didn't you?" Anabel asked.

The two mercenaries looked at each other for an instant before Leon raced to the elevator. He had a very good idea of where in the tower she was, no matter how big it was. Ash, meanwhile, looked at Anabel queerly. "Well…I wonder what you said to get him to crack," he said.

"I have a question for you. Why don't you go look for your friends?" Anabel asked.

"We've been over this. I have no interest nor desire to see them again," Ash said.

"Why? Why do you avoid them?" Anabel asked.

"…Because you're here. Right now, you're my biggest priority, above my friends, and even my mom," Ash explained.

This took Anabel by surprise. "What do you mean?" she asked, beginning to blush.

He moved closer to her, so close that their faces were mere inches apart. "I lied to you, Anabel. I actually watched you longer than I said I did," he said. His face was solemn. "I saw it, Anabel. I was there that day…when you were nearly deflowered."

**I really need a muse. Leave a comment below if you so wish. **


	6. Vigilante

**I had other things to worry about. Sorry to keep you all waiting, though. **

Leon found Sarah on the roof, just as he had expected. "I thought that I would find you here," he said. Sarah didn't answer, instead looking up to the night sky. "Stargazing, huh?" He walked to a spot beside her. "This is just like old times. I remember when you, me, and Master Averill would just lie on a random field somewhere, and he would point out the Ursaring, the Tauros, the Kingler, even the Arcanine."

"I thought that you didn't care for the past, seeing as how you forget things so easily," Sarah said, hostility in her voice.

"There are things in the past that one never forgets, not just the good, but also the bad. I just wish sometimes to forget the bad, but then I wouldn't be what I am today," Leon said.

"Is that why you forgot about me when we met just a few days ago? Did you consider me a bad thing?" Sarah asked.

Leon looked at her in shock. "Sarah, why would you ever think that?" he asked.

Sarah looked at him. "If you're trying to fool me, it won't work that easily. Tell me the truth now, Leontus Firesect! The truth hurts sometimes, but it's better than a pack of lies! Look at me in the eye, and tell me for sure that you never considered me to have a negative impact in your life!" she demanded.

She did not expect Leon to take her in his arms and hug her. "Sarah Isecolt, why would you ever think that? Sure, we had some arguments, but I always considered you a friend, Sarah. Our time together as apprentices were the best four years of my life. I enjoyed working with you a lot. Did you think that I was lying to you when I said that you were beautiful? You are, Sarah. I wasn't playing. You are very beautiful, and your presence was a driving force, no matter how I tried to push you out of my mind," he said.

"Why would you do that?" Sarah asked, angry again.

"Agents of Aura Psychicorum have little to no emotion, and therefore no ties to each other or external beings. Freelance agents are not necessarily bound by these regulations, although we act as such. I had almost succeeded in forgetting you completely, for as you recall, that reunion we had did not go well," Leon explained. "Before I met you, I knew that somewhere in my mind was a collection of memories of my time with a best friend, whose name I could not recall. Meeting you again unlocked them." Leon ended the embrace, but kept his hands on her shoulders. "You were my best friend, Sarah Isecolt. You still are. I never considered you to be a negative impact on my life. And I wholeheartedly apologize for my earlier behavior."

Sarah digested these words before she laughed and hugged Leon again. "You're the same…maybe a little different, but still you. I'm so happy…you're still Leontus Firesect," she said.

"Yes. I am. However, I have a question for you," Leon asked.

"Yeah?" Sarah asked.

"Is Anabel still…disturbed by what happened to her?" Leon asked.

Sarah immediately broke contact. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

"I know, Sarah. I know what happened to her. She nearly lost her chances of being a pure, untouched bride. You and I both know exactly what I mean," Leon said.

"H-how did you…?" Sarah asked.

"Ash did not tell you the whole truth. It is true that during our assignment to watch Anabel, I went back to tell headquarters about the minority of your powers. What he didn't tell you was that I came back to retrieve him. And both he and I were present that day when Anabel was nearly deflowered," Leon said.

"Why didn't you help her?" Sarah demanded.

"I didn't have to. Ash had already taken care of the bastards by the time I showed up," Leon said.

"So then why didn't you do more to help her? Both of you just left her like that?!" Sarah asked.

"Who do you think kidnapped you from your house and brought you to hers that night?" Leon asked with a smile that did not quite reach his eyes. There was a moment of silence before Sarah screamed in frustration.

_Meanwhile…_

Considering the bombshell that Ash had just dropped on her, the face that Anabel was making at the moment was actually quite understandable. It was one of both shock and hurt. "What are you…are you saying that…?" She couldn't finish the thought, but she didn't have to.

Ash nodded sadly. "I'm sorry, Anabel," he said.

Anabel began to cry. "So this is what you meant when you said that you left me behind. It was hovering on the edge of my mind, but I was still wondering ever since you returned…why would you, someone who should have become as cold as ice, and someone who's only really known me for a short two days risk your life for me?"

"And now you have your answer. Ever since that day, I've regretted leaving you behind when you needed me the most. Raichu argued against it, but I never listened, always pushing you to the back of my mind," Ash said. He was about to continue when Raichu itself opened the door. Ash smiled. "Good morning, Raichu. Did you hear all that?"

Raichu simply turned its face away, as if still annoyed at Ash for not listening to it. Ash shook his head. "I get it, Raichu. I should never have left her behind. I realize that now," he said. Raichu nodded, and settled next to Ash.

"Where were you when it happened? Did it never occur to you that would need help?" Anabel asked.

"You remember that day in your perspective, but not from those of others. You never knew, Anabel? Haven't you ever wondered how you ended up in your room?" Ash asked.

Anabel's memories of the day, or rather the night, were hazy, and besides, she tried not to remember it, anyway. Still, for a few minutes during the event, she recalled seeing a bright blue light. During those few minutes, she had assumed that she was dying, and for a few days after, the blackness had served to encourage that. There were instances where Sarah's voice told her to sleep and eat, and though she could do those, she had thought that some divine being had decided to grant her a few more days of half-life before dying completely. But then, the same bright blue light appeared in her vision, and a strong, encouraging male voice told her to keep on living. Then she had woken up with Sarah by her bedside. She was told that while she was unconscious for a few hours, she had been through some sort of mental trauma for the past ten days. Even then, her grip on the real world had been tentative at best. Still, she recovered almost completely, although she still had nightmares.

Now, she recalled that bright blue light, and came to a realization that Ash confirmed with his next statement. "I was the one who brought you to your room and got you away from that bastard. Even now, the rage that I was feeling still haunts me. Do you want to know what happened to him?"

Anabel had a feeling, but she took a chance with the least violent path. "Did…did he go to prison?" she asked.

Her heart sunk at Ash's response. "No. I killed him. My Pokémon and I snuffed out their pathetic lives." He said this with such cold anger that Anabel began to quaver, remembering those events.

_Flashback…_

_Anabel and her then boyfriend, Jace, were walking back to Anabel's house. The night was young, but terrible; a huge thunderstorm had broken out in the area, and Jace and Anabel huddled under a large purple umbrella. _

_Anabel liked Jace; he was nice and funny, and although his Pokémon skills left something to wish for, he cared deeply about her, and she him, or so she thought. _

"_I know a shortcut back, Anabel," Jace said, leading her into the entrance of a dark alleyway. Anabel, however, was unsure. _

"_Are you sure?" she asked._

"_Don't worry about it. I've taken this way a whole bunch of times before. Besides, even if we run into something, I'll protect you, I promise," Jace said. Anabel tried to allow herself to take comfort in his presence, but she still couldn't help a feeling of trepidation. _

_The walk through the alleyway was uneventful at first, but Anabel still felt like there were eyes watching them from the shadows. She clung closer to Jace's arm, seeking his protection. _

_She soon found out that the feeling of being watched was well founded. Within moments, a group of five rough-looking men melted out from the shadows. They had unkempt appearances, but the evil look in their eyes was unmistakable. _

"_Well, well, well, look who's stumbled into our alleyway, boys," one of them said. _

"_Hee-hee-heee! How absolutely fun! That girl is so irresistibly hot!" another one said in a high-pitched voice, licking his lips. _

"_Shall we take her?" a third one asked. A fourth one grunted questioningly at who seemed to be the leader as well. _

"_Let me have her first," the leader said. He glared at the now trembling Jace. "Get out of here, wimp!" _

_Jace glanced at the entrance, which was open. Quickly, he pulled Anabel towards it. The guys seemed to let him go, but the first one that spoke pulled Anabel back by her coat and into his odorous body. "Nuh-uh-uh. You're staying here." _

"_Jace, help!" she screamed. Jace, however, did not do so. Instead, he turned tail and ran, shattering Anabel's hopes. _

_The one who held her passed her to the leader, who hugged her to his body and licked her ear, making her tremble in disgust and fear. "Delicious," he rasped. He then turned to the one who grunted, the biggest one of all. "That sniveling wimp who ran probably isn't going to tell, but deal with him." The man simply nodded and ran off. "Now, then…let's see what's under here…" He pinned Anabel to the ground and ripped off all of her upper clothes with a single yank. "So beautifully pert," he laughed, giving her breasts a small squeeze. _

"_Let me go…please…" Anabel tried. But they paid her no heed; the leader pulled off her pants, leaving her in a bra and underwear. The gang's eyes grew more feral, and they began to blush at the sight of her body. Then, they heard a male voice scream._

"_That'd be your little boyfriend, I'm afraid," the leader taunted. The others laughed, and Anabel struggled even more. This sent them into even greater mirth._

"_We have a live one here…hee-hee-heee!" the whiny one said. _

_The leader said nothing, and hooked his fingers onto the waistband of her underwear. Anabel screamed one last time, but had given up all hope of rescue. She would lose her virginity tonight, and in the worst possible way. She began to lose consciousness as her underwear slid down her thighs. _

_Suddenly, there was a dazzling blue light, and the next moment, the three men behind the leader screamed, seemingly in excruciating pain. It was as if fire suddenly enveloped their bodies; in her last conscious moments, she saw the three literally turn to ash, and the leader was turning towards a figure, hidden in the darkness. _

_Then she blacked out. _

_End flashback…_

"That's how I remember it. I thought that the blue light was a sign that I was dreaming or dying," Anabel said.

"Everyone who goes through something like that usually wishes to die, but it was no dream. Still, it might as well have been. I showed up in the nick of time. That blue light you saw was me blasting the three guys with aura. Don't worry, I kept it under control. I didn't destroy any buildings," he quickly added when he saw her horrified look.

"In any case, this is what happened after you fell unconscious…"

_Flashback…_

"_Who the hell are you?" the leader asked, stumbling to his feet._

"_Your worst nightmare, you son of a bitch," Ash hissed. Raichu was gritting its teeth while sitting on his shoulder. _

"_This is between her and me! Get the hell out of here!" the leader demanded. Still, he looked deathly terrified. There was nothing left of his friends; they were literally gone with the wind. Then he remembered the guy he sent away. "Gip! Gip, get your ass back here! Hurry!" _

"_Is Gip that big retarded guy? He met the same fate as the fools that were just here," Ash said. _

"_Y-you…killed them! You murderer!" the leader quavered. Ash would hear no more of this. He had been trying to keep his rage under control, but he gave up. In less than two seconds, the man's right arm was on the ground, and his right ear as well. Blood gushed out of the two holes. The man screamed, seemingly unable to decide which hole to try to plug. _

"_You are no man. You are an insect. Not a Bug Pokémon, but an insect. I suggest that you try to run," Ash said. The man stumbled away as fast as he could, his blood staining the flowing streams of rainwater red. Just as he thought that he would get away, he was met with three other figures, all of them bathed in shadow. One looked like a giant lizard, another looked like a soldier of some sort, and the third looked like a bipedal crocodile with fins. They all had cold, hard looks in their eyes, and the glow of their weapons shined even in the dark. "You should never listen to the advice your murderer gives you. It only gets you killed," Ash said. Raichu jumped down from Ash's shoulder, its tail already prepared to lash with Iron Tail. "Now, how do you wish to die? A thousand lashes with Raichu's Iron Tail? Getting all your limbs hacked off by Sceptile or Gallade before they finally cut your head off? Your throat crushed by Feraligatr after a slow suffocation? Burnt to a crisp by my Charizard or frozen to the bone by my Glalie?" _

"_No…no…no…" the man gasped, realizing he was trapped. The blood flowed freely now, but he felt no pain in the face of his fear. _

"_And how many times have you heard those very words? Forget it. There's only one way for you to die rightfully," Ash said, before returning all his Pokémon to their Poke Balls. The man had no time to sigh in relief; Ash lifted him up by the throat and slammed him against the wall. Unfortunately for the man, he did not lose consciousness, although he came close to. A few minutes later, he would find that losing consciousness would have been the best thing to happen to him that night; with what Ash had in store for him, he would curse his bad luck to have the mood for crime on him tonight. "This won't take long; Anabel needs help. Still, you will die slowly." Ash created a sharp, claw-like extension of one of his right index fingernail out of aura. He plunged it into the man's left arm, and when he pulled it out, blood flowed out again, but the claw was gone. Ash let him fall to the ground and walked back to where Anabel was. "Enjoy your pain." _

_That was the last thing the man heard before a small stinging pain began to erupt throughout his entire body. He tried to scratch, but the pain simply got worse and worse until it was entirely unbearable. By the end of the minute, the man was writhing in agony on the ground, screaming and screaming until his throat was raw. His screams got more high pitched as he turned from relief to terror once more. _

_Ash paid this no mind, blocking the screams from his ears. Instead, he knelt down beside Anabel, who was still conscious, but quavering. She shrank away from his touch, whimpering. "Anabel?" he asked, getting worried._

"_Get away…please help…get away from me…" she quavered. Ash gasped. Mental trauma. He was afraid this might happen, and soon he was angry at himself for not knowing a slower way than he used for the man to die in agony. Speaking of which, he was still screaming, and Ash knew that it would attract attention soon. _

"_It's going to be all right…just trust me, Anabel," Ash tried, attempting to bring comfort by hugging her. However, she violently flailed around when his arms almost went around her. _

"_Stop! Stop it!" Anabel cried. Ash had no choice. He touched a glowing blue finger to her forehead and released some of his energy around it. It bathed her entire forehead, and she began to calm down. _

"_Sssh…just sleep right now, Anabel. It's going to be all right. I promise. Just believe in me, all right?" Ash soothed. Anabel finally closed her eyes as Ash wrapped his coat around her body and lifted her. She seemed to weakly clutch at his front, even she was unconscious. Ash carried her towards the entrance, where the man, who had screamed himself raw, was lying. A blue fire was burning his body despite the rain, and through the fire's glow, a vaguely humanoid black husk of a man was all that was left. _

"_H-help…ple…please…" the husk whispered, feebly reaching out with what looked like a hand at Ash. However, neither the boy nor the rodent paid him any attention, walking by without a glance. The husk opened his mouth in a silent scream before finally dying, fading into ash. _

_As Ash carried Anabel into view of the street, a loud whistle was heard from above. "I thought that you had left," Ash said, not looking up, although he stopped. _

"_Aura Psychicorum is getting impatient. I was sent to bring you back," Leon said. He swung down from the rooftop, landing right next to Ash. "I never expected you to kill him like that. I'm quite surprised; injecting a small volume of aura particles that multiplied exponentially within the victim's body, and then detonating them when they spread throughout, slowly burning the victim's heart, lungs, stomach, veins, everything, until the body itself is little more than a husk—you certainly are a lot more brutal than I realized. Your reputation does you justice, at least," Leon said. _

"_I have to help her. I hate to leave her like this," Ash said._

"_I'll notify her friend and bring her to the girl's house. Of course, I'll do it by kidnapping her from her house. After that, we'll take our leave. I'll give you about twenty minutes," Leon said, before running off. _

_Ash ran in the opposite direction—Anabel's house was not all that far away if he went at top speed. He would make it there in five minutes. As he entered Anabel's front door by picking the lock, he thought about when he had seen her last. He was just a kid back then. Now, even though he didn't like it, he had to leave her like this. Still, he might as well leave a note. He was in a lot of trouble as it was, anyway. _

_However, he left only three words on a small slip of paper that Anabel would eventually find during her hour of awakening. _

"_I'm sorry. –A.N.K." the note read. _

_End flashback…_

"It was you…" Anabel whispered.

"I really was sorry, Anabel. Ever since then, I pushed myself to get more powerful, in an attempt to forget my regret. However, it has always been there. It was part of the reason why I chose to go freelance. Don't you see? I took this job because I wanted to be there when you needed again. I failed once. I will not fail again," Ash said.

"Why didn't you try? Was Aura Psychicorum that powerful? Were you so afraid of it back then?" Anabel asked.

"Believe it or not, it's even stronger now. But so am I, and with strength comes confidence. I promise you, I won't fail this time," Ash said.

Anabel was overcome with emotion. Fear, anger, sorrow, and love. This torrent had only one release at the moment. She slapped him as hard as he could. Ash's face whipped to the side, and he turned back, his face ashen, when Anabel simply broke down into his arms. "You dummy…I never once put the blame on you ever since you told me just now. It wasn't your fault, it was mine," she sobbed.

"It wasn't yours, Anabel. It was simply you being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Speaking of which, what happened to that Jace guy you were dating?" Ash asked.

"I broke up with him. I said that if he truly cared about me, then he would try to help me. But all he did was run. I just didn't trust him," Anabel said.

"You shouldn't have. A coward is a coward," Ash said. He wrapped his arms more tightly around her. "In any case, you've got to know…even though Vigo is dead, there will be others. I'm going to have to train you. Do you trust me, Anabel?"

"Yes." Anabel's response was rather muffled, since her face was buried in his shoulder.

"Look into my eyes. Stand up to this piercing glare, and tell me the truth. Do you trust me wholeheartedly?" Ash said.

Anabel did as he said, and his glare was as piercing as he said. Still, she fixed calmly on the reflection of dim light that proved his existence, and she felt no nervousness. "I trust you, Ash Ketchum," she said.

"I suppose if we're working together from now on, you should know my full name," Ash sighed. He stood up and bowed dramatically. "My name is Ashvier Nova Ketchum. Pleased to meet you fully, Lady Anabel Crystallium," he said.

Anabel started giggling, although tears still leaked out. "Ashvier? That's such a…strange name. It sounds strangely powerful, though," she said. "Ashvier. Very well then." She stood up and curtsied. "I place my full trust in you, Mister Ashvier Nova Ketchum," she said, mirth in her voice.

The two stood there for a moment before laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of their situation. "Ash…I'm really glad that you're here, you know," Anabel said, looking down at her feet.

"So am I. Now, what do you say we get an explanation out of Leon?" Ash asked.

"We?" Anabel asked.

"This might involve you. When Leon got here, he said that returning to headquarters was no longer an option. I want to know what he meant by that," Ash said. Anabel just remembered that fact, and admittedly, she was rather curious about that as well.

"No need for that. I'll tell you, anyway," Leon's voice said. Ash and Anabel looked towards the entrance where Leon and Sarah were just returning.

"Did something happen at HQ, Leon?" Ash asked.

"Nothing good. It turns out that the job sent from above was a lie. Protecting them was just a cover for the real job," Leon said.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked.

"They asked us to bring them back to HQ for training, right?" Ash nodded. "I was wondering about that, so I asked them. They said that they wanted to induct Anabel and Sarah into the ranks of the psychics with training almost immediately after arrival, and leaving us out of it," Leon said.

"What?! I thought that we would train them!" Ash said.

"What's the difference?" Sarah asked.

"The trainers at HQ are drill instructors that treat newbies no different from the veterans! You would never be able to handle that level immediately! Training at the level that they have may very well kill you, and they wouldn't care at all!" Ash exclaimed.

"That's not the worst of it," Leon said. "That was a lie, too. I overheard some of the top brass plotting behind a door. Apparently, they think Anabel is part of some prophecy that refers to something called the Maiden of the White Moon, also shortened to the White Maiden. In the prophecy, she's described as a dormant telepath at a comparatively late age. She starts out rather weak, but within contact with danger and someone called the Azure Knight, she would gain almost unmatched power. They think that you're the Azure Knight, Ash," Leon said.

"That's…weird. So what happens in this prophecy? Are they planning to use her for something?" Ash asked.

Leon nodded, and his face grew even more grim. "Yes. The Maiden of the White Moon is…eventually sacrificed. They plan on killing Anabel," he said.

**And that's another cliffhanger…leave a comment below if you so wish.  
**

**By the way, there have been some hateful guest reviews in my other stories, and here's my response to them: get a life. If you use a guest review to leave a flame, then you're nothing but a coward. I have nothing against guest reviews, but I really hate it when people flame me with them. I only leave those flames up so people can realize how stupid you anonymous haters are. I have no problem with those who flame under an account, at least then I can flame you back. Positive guest reviews are fine, too. However, to those anonymous haters: get the hell off the site. I have no interest in your idiocy. **

**In any case, again, leave a comment below if you so wish. Except for you anonymous haters. Go do something with yourself. **


	7. Calm Before The Storm

**It's time to continue. Shall we see how the others will respond to Leon's statement? Also, there are some mildly religious statements in this chapter that demean belief in gods. Just saying so that it's out there, I apologize right now if you find them offensive, and please tell me if you feel offended. I have nothing against people who believe in higher power. **

**Also, this will be mainly a filler chapter that involves personification of Pokémon, so if you don't want to read it, skip it entirely. **

"Sacrifice Anabel?" Sarah whispered, hoping that Leon was joking. He wasn't, as seen when he nodded grimly.

"To what end? Do you know about this prophecy? What will sacrificing Anabel accomplish?" Ash asked.

"Can you guys not talk about me like I'm not here? This is about me, you know!" Anabel complained. The others gave her looks of apology.

"Anyway, I don't know much about it, but you know that there are some agents of Aura Psychicorum that believe in gods and deities, correct? I'm not talking about Arceus, Dialga, Palkia, or the like, and believing in them is fine because we all know that they actually exist. I'm talking about humanoid gods that actually created those Pokémon, which I don't believe in at all. I'm sorry if I offended any of you," Leon said.

"No, it's fine. I don't believe in things like that, either," Anabel said. Ash and Sarah nodded in agreement.

"Good, because there are those that do believe. I don't know much about the prophecy, but I know the key points. Sacrificing the White Maiden will provide the goddess Tenebras with a vessel, in which she will create a new world," Leon said.

"That doesn't sound so bad, but why does it have to be me that's sacrificed?" Anabel asked.

"First of all, they don't know if you are the actual maiden, but they are sure of it. And to find out if you are, they're going to do everything they can to put you in danger. Matter of fact, if we don't help you disappear right now and disappear ourselves, there's going to be an entire army of Aura Guardians and psychics circling around this Battle Tower like a pack of hungry Sharpedo, and they _will_ attack to cause intense pain. Second of all, I wasn't finished with my previous statement. Tenebras is prophesized to create a new world…by issuing its destruction," Leon growled.

"OK, that sucks, but why do we need to disappear?" Ash asked.

Leon actually looked ashamed for once. "That was partially my fault. I busted into that private discussion I was talking about earlier, palms blazing, and swore that neither you nor I would ever let that happen." This was when Leon began to talk in an unsure, questioning way. His voice got slightly higher as well. "Then I…might have…injured them? Enough to put them…in the infirmary…near death, perhaps…?"

Ash immediately socked him. "What the hell, man?! Why'd you have to get me involved in this?! You might as well have painted a target on my back!" he complained.

Leon had a bruise on his cheek, but the look he gave to Ash was calm. "Was I wrong? I was under the impression that you would protect her, even though the job contract is null and void, Ashvier Nova Ketchum," Leon said.

Ash thought about it, while irked that Leon knew his full name. Finally, he grinned. "You know me far too well for comfort, Leontus Firesect," he said. Anabel looked at him in slight relief.

"Not really. I just know that she means more to you than anything," Leon said, a slight teasing tone in his voice. Ash and Anabel both blushed profusely, and all others noticed this, but did not tease any further, partially because of goodwill, and partially because Ash's and Leon's Pokémon shuffled one by one into the room, looking much better than they had just last night. That's right, last night. It was dawn now, and the first hints of light had begun to filter through, although, since it was a cloudy day, the light wasn't all that bright. Still, these two sights reminded the humans how long they had been talking; and how tired they were.

"Perhaps we should continue this discussion after a good amount of bed rest," Leon said, yawning. Ash nodded in agreement. They hadn't fully recovered from their wounds, and it was amazing that they were walking around as it was. Besides, the girls were tired, too.

The Pokémon protested, well satisfied with their recuperation rest, and now wanted to move around a little. Anabel and Sarah released their Pokémon on Anabel's word. The telepath had immediately read the Guardians' Pokémon's thoughts, and felt that both hers and Sarah's Pokémon could use some release.

"_Take Ash and Leon's Pokémon to the garden. Relax a little," _Anabel thought to her Pokémon as she and Sarah led Ash and Leon to their bedrooms. Anabel's Espeon nodded and took the lead, to Raichu's slight annoyance. It was usually the leader. Still, it got the rest of the Guardians' Pokémon to follow Espeon's lead.

_Change POV (note: all Pokémon shall now be referred to by gender, mainly because I find it easier that way)_

"And here we are," Espeon mewed, after leading the large party down to the garden. Actually, it was more like a forest. The Battle Frontier's large budget covered for most of the facilities to have their own training areas. In the case of the Battle Tower, it was a large conservatory, where flowers grew, the trees were a healthy green, and wild Pokémon were even known to roam around. Of course, Anabel and/or Sarah's Pokémon usually took care of it when one wild Pokémon caused too much trouble.

"Impressive," Raichu said, before turning around. "Okay, let's lay down a few ground rules. Ground rule: no super-violent fighting or anything that will cause large-scale destruction, but scuffles are allowed. No interfering with the wild Pokémon here unless they cause trouble. Finally, be courteous to Anabel and Sarah's Pokémon. We are their masters' guests."

"Why should you be in charge, rodent?" Infernape asked.

"It's not like you disagree, do you?" Raichu countered.

"…Good point," Infernape conceded.

"Well, I don't give a damn. I'm out," Leon's Shiftry growled. The next moment, he had disappeared, almost literally gone with the wind.

"Is there any point in trying to catch him?" Sarah's Roserade asked.

"No, no, not at all. He'll show up sooner or later," Leon's Luxray sighed.

"In any case, let's split up and do our own thing. Your masters did allow us some relaxation, so we might as well," Leon's Aerodactyl said before flying up to perch on a tree.

"How is it that you were able to defeat Lance's Pokémon with this attitude? We should be training!" Ash's Charizard roared. His comrade, Ash's Sceptile, nodded in agreement.

Leon's Poliwrath sighed. "Lighten up. If you want to train, go train. I'm taking a nap," he said, before walking up to the pond in the center and jumping in. Sarah's Floatzel and Ash's Feraligatr both followed after a few moments of thinking on both their parts.

"Enjoy your relaxation, everyone. You'll need it," Drapion said. He headed off into the forest as well, hoping to track down Shiftry for a good game of tag. Sarah's Flygon offered her help, but Drapion declined. Still, Flygon followed in the air anyway. Luxray headed into a different direction, and Sarah's Ninetales followed him into the forest, looking for a chance to speak properly with him about the circumstances. The other Pokémon dispersed as well, all except for one.

Ash's Gallade, as one of the newest of Ash's party, was rather lost on what to do, although his pride would never allow him to show it. Unlike Charizard and Sceptile, it did not want to train all that much, but unlike Poliwrath or the usually sleeping Glalie, it did not want to relax either.

Gallade had always been a bit of an…enigma. The red blades and blue horn as well as his normal green coloration everywhere else left him ostracized throughout his life. Ash's team looked past these defects and judged Gallade by personality and skill. Even though Gallade had never been formally taken in by a trainer, all of the team was impressed by his ability in battle. Psycho Cut, Focus Blast, Close Combat, and Night Slash was an impressive moveset, and along with Gallade's intelligence and prowess in battle, Gallade was a Pokémon that many of his comrades enjoyed sparring with.

Still, he did not quite fit in with the group, always staying on the sidelines to watch over them, despite being weaker than some of them were, although he was not above joining in on the occasional game of tag or sparring match. Raichu did not protest against this, and in fact, welcomed the chance to loosen up a little bit. Gallade's behavior slightly worried his teammates, but none of them really pried into it.

Gallade finally decided to join in on the chase of Shiftry, and maybe gain a quick battle with Luxray. The two Pokémon served as the right-hand man of their respective team leaders, and as such, had built up a slight rivalry. As he headed to the forest, he finally acknowledged that he was not alone.

A blue parasol covered a sitting figure's face. Gallade had been aware of its presence for a while now. Like him, it did not follow the others. Like the soldier he was, Gallade walked up so that the figure's parasol was facing him, and bowed. "Penny for your thoughts?" he asked.

The parasol was lifted, and Gallade's eyes widened slightly. It was a female Gardevoir, and like all of her kind, the very epitome of elegant beauty. This one was shiny, with the blue of the parasol she was holding matching the color of her hair and arms. She spoke in a perfectly calm voice. "Just thinking about you," she answered.

"Is that so?" Gallade asked, tilting his head questioningly. "Whose Pokémon are you, anyway?"

"I battle under Lady Anabel Crystallium, Sir Gallade," she said, getting up and closing her parasol. She began to walk away, but then stopped and turned after a few steps. "Walk with me?"

Gallade had been entranced by the way she walked, so it took him a few moments to answer. "Y-yes. Of course," he replied, offering her his arm. She accepted it gratefully, and while both of them were aware that Gallade did not know his way around the garden, Gardevoir still let him lead her. Besides, they were in no hurry. Their trainers were sleeping.

"I heard everything from inside my Poke Ball. Is the situation truly so bad?" Gardevoir asked.

"Truthfully? I have no idea. I was still unconscious. You probably know more about it than I do. Little Raichu should be able to elaborate more on the subject," Gallade said.

"Little Raichu?" Gardevoir asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Apologies. We in Master Ash's team tend to tease Raichu a bit by calling him Little Raichu. It doesn't seem to bother him, and besides, he always gets us back by defeating us in battle. That small stature makes him very difficult to catch, even from the air. Charizard can attest to that," Gallade explained, chuckling. Gardevoir smiled.

Their walk was interrupted by Drapion bursting out of the bushes, panting. "Accursed…Shiftry…" he said.

"Hello, Drapion. From the looks of things, Shiftry is quite elusive, isn't he?" Gallade greeted.

"He's sure eluding us. We've got Charizard, Luxray, Sceptile, AND Flygon looking for him, not to mention me! He's still getting away! Hey, why don't you try looking for him?" Drapion fumed.

"First of all, Shiftry is a Dark-Type, so I can't sense him all that well. Second, I really don't feel like leaping through the trees. Third, even if I did, do you not see whom I have with me?" Gallade asked.

Drapion finally noticed Gardevoir clinging to Gallade's arm. Immediately, he went through a rather interesting personality change, even going so far as to bow. "Sorry, you two. Enjoy your walk. But if you find Shiftry, tell him that the others are looking for him," he said, before immersing back into the foliage.

"It is strange, though," Gallade commented.

"What?" Gardevoir asked.

"Drapion is Leon's fastest Pokémon. If even he has trouble catching Shiftry, perhaps I should have joined in…" He looked at her. "No, I could not leave you. It would be discourteous," he said. "Shall we continue?"

Gardevoir leaned more closely into him, making him blush. "I believe that this may be the start of a beautiful friendship. We should get to know each other better, since we are going to be working together in the future," she said. Gallade grunted, but did not complain.

_Meanwhile…_

"Any luck?" Drapion asked Flygon. She shook her head. "Blast!"

"You know, I expected you to know him a bit better, since you are both Dark-Types," Flygon pointed out.

"Shiftry can find hiding places much better than I can, especially in a place like this. He's the lord of the jungle. The one who has the most chance of finding him is Sceptile, the so-called king of the forest. Come to think of it, why are we doing this?" Drapion asked.

"That's what I was wondering. Now sit down and please allow me to talk with you in a civilized manner," Flygon ordered. Drapion gave her a defiant look, but the red-eyed glare she gave him ensured that the scorpion allowed her to speak at the very least, although he refused to sit. Flygon sighed, knowing that was the most that she would get out of him.

There was an awkward silence before Drapion broke it. "So…how have things been on your end?" he asked.

"Fine, I suppose. I have gotten much stronger than I used to be," Flygon replied. The truth was, although they both were part of Averill's team, and then fought alongside each other, the master did not allow them to interact often, so the two Pokémon may as well have been talking to complete strangers with the way they were acting.

"The last time I saw you, you were nothing but a little Trapinch," Drapion said.

"Like you're one to talk. You were quite small for your size, even for a Skorupi," Flygon said.

"And now look at me," Drapion said, drawing himself up to his full height. Although he was just below Flygon's eye level, he was still larger than most Drapion.

"Yes, I suppose that you have grown, but size isn't everything," Flygon said.

"You have no idea how much stronger I've gotten," Drapion growled.

"To what end?" Flygon asked. Drapion looked at her. "Why do you want so much power, Drapion? Leon is an top-class Aura Guardian. He needs little protection," Flygon said.

"It's not about protecting him. Leon wants us to be strong, Flygon. Ever since you trainer disappeared from his life, he's been paranoid about the idea of death. He wants us to be strong not only to help him win battles, but in the event of his death, Arceus forbid, he wants us to be certain enough to survive in the wild for the rest of our lives," Drapion said.

"And if you get captured again?" Flygon asked.

"I don't know about the others, but I will never be another person's Pokémon. Leon and Averill are my only trainers, and they always will be. If I am ever released, I will not fall captured by another trainer," Drapion growled.

"Not even for Sarah, Anabel, or Ash?" Flygon asked.

"Maybe them, and no one else," Drapion amended.

"I see. You are proud of your trainer, aren't you?" Flygon asked.

"I'm proud to be his Pokémon. He's brought me to a point that most Drapion cannot even hope to reach. We are lords over the desert, considered powerful even in the wild. As Leon's Pokémon, I am his assassin, one of the few Pokémon who can unleash a critical hit to its maximum potential. I love this existence," Drapion explained, looking at Flygon pointedly. "You feel the same way, don't you?"

"What do you mean?" Flygon asked.

"Look at yourself. I might be a lord of the desert, but you're a queen, Flygon. Sarah's turned you into one of the greatest specimens of the Desert Spirit I've ever seen…even though I haven't seen many of them," Drapion said.

"How do you mean?" Flygon asked. Drapion crawled up to her, laying a surprisingly gentle claw on her body. Flygon flinched and nearly blasted him with a Supersonic, but the gentle look in his eyes stopped her.

Drapion began stroking her body. "These scales are finely polished, and they shine with luster. This finely developed body is just feels so powerful…" His eyes turned to Flygon's. "And that glow in your eyes…these are the defining traits of a masterly-trained Pokémon. Sarah's done very well for you…"

Flygon declined the Supersonic and opted to attack with a Dragon Claw, which Drapion reflexively blocked with one of his arms. "I apologize," he said, noticing her blush. "Perhaps that was a bit too…inappropriate."

"Inappropriate? More like perverted, you dog," Flygon snapped.

Drapion assumed an offended expression. "Dog? I am clearly a scorpion," he said, retreating.

Flygon scoffed. "Like that's much better," she said.

Drapion sighed. "I feel hurt." Then, he bowed. "Still, I will admit that I was…acting a little strange. The fact is that you truly are beautiful, Flygon. I simply chose the strangest way to convey that," he said.

"So you want me to be your mate or something?" Flygon asked.

"I don't think of you like _that. _I am merely pointing out that you are beautiful," Drapion said.

"Thank you…I suppose," Flygon said.

Drapion merely nodded.

_Meanwhile…_

"Come on out, Shiftry. Many of us are tired of playing this game," Luxray sighed. His x-ray vision was quite useful for searching out the Wicked Pokémon. The grass rustled, and Shiftry flew out.

"Fine. I'll go head back to the entrance. Might as well sleep. Besides, you have company right now," Shiftry said.

"What are you talking about?" Luxray asked.

"Didn't you notice?" Shiftry asked.

"Notice what?"

"For the love of Arceus, Luxray, Sarah's fox has had her eyes on you ever since we woke up!" Shiftry exclaimed. Luxray flinched and slowly turned around. True to word, Sarah's Ninetales was just emerging from the foliage. Shiftry grinned at his reaction. "I'll leave you to this, lover boy." With that, Shiftry ran off.

"Hello, Luxray…" Ninetales said, padding up to the lion in a seemingly sensual way.

Luxray blushed; she truly was beautiful. "H-hello, Ninetales. How have you been?" he asked.

"Fine, but there has been a certain ache inside me ever since you left…" Ninetales whispered, her head dipped in demure shyness.

"Is that so? And why are you telling me this?" Luxray asked, backing up a bit.

Ninetales ran her body into contact with Luxray's, winking at him as she went by. "Why do you think?" she asked.

Luxray's eyes widened slightly, and then he grinned a feral grin as he began to follow her. "I see," he said. His stride grew purposely larger so that he could curl around and block Ninetales's path. "Allow me to explain something to you." Quick as a flash, he had pinned Ninetales beneath his body. "Ninetales, your attempts at seducing me are…amazing, I admit, but I know you far better than that. What do you want?"

"Oh, this and that," Ninetales sighed, acting nonchalant.

Luxray tightened his grip on her. "I do not have time for games. Do you truly want to know how I am when I get serious?" he asked.

"I already know what you are like, Luxray. Or rather, I already know how you used to be," Ninetales retorted, the playful look in her eyes gone now.

"Is that what it's about? How I used to be? Or rather, how you and I used to be?" Luxray asked.

"Yes. I'm scared of what you might have become, Luxray. I haven't seen you in years. Are you still the same male whom I pined after?" Ninetales asked.

"Are you the same female whom I looked at from afar?" Luxray asked.

"Perhaps," Ninetales said.

Luxray sighed. "I admit, my sensible side is telling me to doubt you, but the better part of me is telling me to ravage you where you lay beneath my paws." Luxray rasped in a husky whisper. Ninetales blushed and turned away. "However, I will not do either of those."

"Do you not find me attractive?" Ninetales asked.

"I have found you _ravishing _ever since I woke up, and my desires around you are running rampant. However, I must curb them. We are in a situation in which such feelings will merely be a distraction, if not a danger. Do you understand?" Luxray asked.

"Are you rejecting me, Luxray?" Ninetales asked.

"For now, yes. I must ask you to wait for me. I do not want you to be involved in this, but Lady Sarah is headstrong. However, Master Leon is too much for her to pass up, so you will inevitably be involved. Can I trust you to survive until all danger has passed?" Luxray asked.

"If I wait for you, will you wait for me?" Ninetales asked.

"It goes without saying or question, but yes, without a doubt," Luxray said, letting her up.

"I see. I will wait for you, then, until the day you come to me," Ninetales said.

"Thank you," Luxray said, beginning to walk off, but then he stopped and turned. "Oh, there is one more thing…"

"Yes?" Ninetales asked.

Luxray pounced on her and pinned her to the ground again before thrusting his muzzle into hers in a passionate kiss. Ninetales's eyes widened in shock before desperately wrapping her legs around him, four years of restrained need bursting out in that moment. Luxray raised his muzzle and grinned feral once more. "Just a little something to keep you excited. You should know by now that when it comes to awakening desire, I will always have an advantage over you," he purred.

Ninetales blushed profusely. "Luxray…I know that if you don't stop right now, I won't be able to stop myself, so I'll give you an option; will you please get off and just walk with me? All I want is to spend some time with you," she said, loosening her grip.

Luxray let her up again and bowed. "My pleasure," he said. As she got up, he raked his tongue over her cheek, and she did the same. Also, although Luxray opted to keep their relationship away for now, they still kept their tails entwined when they went for their walk.

_Meanwhile…_

Unlike Luxray, Infernape was well aware of his stalker. He had just been playing with her for the past few minutes. The fact that they were both Pokémon accustomed to a forest environment made the game all the more fun. Still, Infernape felt like ending the game.

The fire monkey leapt into the trees, doubling back in an attempt to shake his pursuer. It worked; when his quarry entered, she looked around in confusion. Infernape surprised her by leaping onto her back and pinning her down. Still, she was able to get him back by wrapping her legs around his waist and rolling over, pinning him down.

"H-how—?" Infernape sputtered, and his opponent laughed merrily.

"You're good, Infernape, but you let your guard down far too easily around me." She let him up. "It's been far too long, my dear," she said.

"My dear? I don't recall ever being that close to you," Infernape said. Then he bowed. "Still, I don't mind. It would do well for my reputation to be linked with such a beautiful maiden, Lopunny."

Sarah's Lopunny smiled. "And you are more handsome than ever. We may have evolved, but it is still simple to recognize you," she said.

Both of them laughed. Unlike their comrades, Luxray and Ninetales, the two leaders of Leon and Sarah's teams enjoyed flirting shamelessly with each other even when they were merely Chimchar and Buneary. The playful banter was part of the reason why Lopunny wanted to speak with Infernape.

"So, we are together again," Lopunny said.

"Of course. Playful banter aside, why have you followed me here?" Infernape asked.

"How have you been, Infernape? What was your life like after Leon and Sarah got separated?" Lopunny asked, sitting down and patting the spot on the grass next to her. Infernape took the hint and sat down beside her.

"Interesting, to say the least. Leon went to Hoenn and Sinnoh to compete in their leagues with Luxray, Drapion, and I. Throughout that time, Leon also brought Poliwrath, Aerodactyl, and Shiftry into his team. All of them are great assets to his team, and we all eventually got strong enough to completely dominate almost every trainer we saw, only losing in the Top 4 of both leagues. Then, Leon was spotted using Aura by an agent from Aura Psychicorum. Although the mention of psychics in organization brought up bad memories, he decided to join. It would be a good place to hone his skills and our own," Infernape said.

"Then what happened?" Lopunny asked, sounding somewhat like a little girl.

"Well, at first, it looked like we had bitten off more than we could chew. Most of the agents at the organization were stronger than Leon in energy, and despite our best efforts, we hardly ever won a battle. However, that only lasted a few weeks. After that, we finally adapted to the air inside the building," Infernape said.

"The air? What did that have to do with anything?" Lopunny asked.

"The very air in the building was affected by the energy of the agents themselves. It's part of the reason why the Headquarters is nearly impossible to destroy. However, most Pokémon with increased exposure to beings like Leon and even your master, Sarah, get used to it far more quickly than normal. Leon eventually got himself used to it, and we began to fight at levels that completely surprised our peers. We rose in the ranks, until we finally got high enough to act on our own. We had been winning against opponents that we had only recently been losing badly against, and the higher-ups offered us a chance. They would pit us against another person of our level. Whoever won the battle could go freelance with lenient restraints. This was an opportunity that Leon could not pass up. Although he had nearly forgotten about Sarah by then, she still hovered on the edges of his mind, and he wanted to try to find her, just for some peace in his heart. Guess who they pitted us against?" Infernape challenged.

"Was it Ash?" Lopunny asked.

Infernape smiled. "You got it. Ash's team was the only one who had ever stood a chance of defeating us after our progress. I still have a rivalry with that Raichu, for that matter. Anyway, the result was a tie. Neither of them could make any real headway against each other. If one gained an advantage, the other regained the lost ground. It went back and forth until the higher-ups finally stopped them. For such entertainment, they said, they would grant both Ash and Leon freelance status. The two of us parted in peace, but we still have a rivalry going on, even though we work fairly well with one another."

Lopunny nodded, impressed. "Wow. My life hasn't been nearly that interesting," she said.

Infernape shook his head. "There were some pretty tough situations. Trust me, it's not something I would want to go through again. But enough about me. Talk about yourself, Lopunny. Sarah's brought you up as well. How did she ever become a substitute Frontier Brain?" he asked.

"Simple. She was strong enough to keep us well experienced, but we always have kept our beauty. Instead of being a Pokémon Coordinator, though, she decided to challenge the Battle Frontier. It was pretty tough, but we eventually managed to beat it. Scott gave Sarah the chance to become a Frontier Brain, but Sarah declined. However, she asked Scott for a position as Anabel's assistant. They had become great friends in the short time they interacted, and her team and ours get along fine too. Scott didn't see any problems, so this is was where we've been for the past two years or so," Lopunny said.

"I see." Infernape was silent for a few seconds. "Well, then would you like to test your strength against mine?" he asked.

"You want to spar?" Lopunny asked.

"Nothing serious, of course. I won't use anything but martial arts. I trust that you will keep your special attacks barred as well," Infernape said.

"My fighting style relies on physical attacks, Infernape. I do have a special attack up my sleeve, but it won't work on you," Lopunny said, before one of her ears swung towards Infernape in a Dizzy Punch. Infernape took the full brunt of the blow, and the power behind was enough to send him flying. However, the monkey easily recovered, landing back on his feet and revealing that the punch only left a small bruise.

"What was that for?" Infernape demanded.

Lopunny curtsied. "That was my acceptance of your challenge, dear," she teased.

Infernape grinned. "Oh, it's on now!" he said. He raced forward; ready to start up a session with Close Combat. However, Lopunny countered with Dizzy Punch, with both of her ears reacting reflexively to each of Infernape's punches and kicks. Finally, Infernape managed to send her flying with a kick to the midsection, and this time Lopunny was sent flying. Infernape moved in for the final punch. Unexpectedly to him, however, Lopunny recovered almost as easily as he did when he was sent flying, and when she landed on her feet, she immediately leapt high into the air while Infernape hit nothing but ground. A moment later, Lopunny landed several aerial kicks to Infernape's face in rapid succession. Infernape was taken aback; literally.

"You're good," Infernape said, wiping his mouth.

Lopunny landed like a fairy and smiled. "It has to be expected. It would be an insult to hold back against you," she said. She leapt forward, rapidly hurling spin kicks at Infernape. Infernape had little chance to maneuver inside and attack; her kicks were too fast for that. Her kicks were beginning to take their toll; his arms were getting tired from blocking.

Infernape leapt back to avoid a kick before ducking and landing a solid punch on Lopunny's stomach. As she fell back, he flew forward, pinning her down to ensure that she couldn't recover.

"Well…this is quite the interesting position we're in," Lopunny mused.

Infernape assumed a mocking expression. "I smiled as I pinned the lovely girl under my body; what would this relationship advance to? I had no idea, but I very much enjoyed the feeling of her under me," he said in a old-fashioned detective movie voice.

Lopunny laughed. "Shut up!" she said, smacking him lightly.

_Meanwhile…_

Raichu could feel the power that he put into his tail as he lashed the air with Iron Tail. At its full strength, one could even feel a harsh breeze coming from each lash.

"You should really hold back, unless you want to destroy something." Raichu turned to see a purple cat striding towards him.

"I'm not strong enough to destroy a tree with just the gust caused by one of my Iron Tails, Espeon," Raichu growled.

Espeon cocked her head. "Strange. For a moment there, you seemed to act like you were," she said.

"I'm only testing its strength. I have no idea whether or not it's strong enough for what lies ahead," Raichu said.

"Is it as strong as you can make it?" Espeon asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Raichu asked.

"If it's as strong as you can make it, then as you grow, your power will grow. It's as simple as that. There's no point in wasting your energy at this moment. You know this is time for relaxation," Espeon said.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" Raichu said, changing the subject.

Espeon knew his game, but decided to play along. "There's no point in sitting by the pond with that Poliwrath and Feraligatr scuffling like they are," she said.

"Yes, they do have a bit of a rivalry," Raichu said.

"Floatzel has her paws full trying to stop them. I went off hoping someone would help her," Espeon said.

Raichu sighed. "I suppose I'll try to talk some sense into them." Espeon looked at him gratefully, and the two were about to walk off when there was a tremendous crashing noise from outside.

"What was that?" Espeon asked.

"Probably Charizard getting too rough," Raichu said nonchalantly. Still, he raced out of the garden, Espeon following hot on his heels. They were outside just after the other Pokémon. A man crouched in the middle of a dust cloud, but when he looked up, the face was all too familiar to some, despite the fact that half of it was severely burned.

"It can't be…" Lopunny breathed. Her fears were confirmed after Ash, Anabel, Leon, and Sarah raced out from the Battle Tower.

_Change to human POV…_

"No way… it can't be…" Sarah breathed.

"What? Who is that? What happened?" Ash asked, his eyes still rather groggy from his short nap.

"It does make sense. If we survived, then it was possible that he did as well, Sarah," Leon growled, his hand beginning to spark with green energy.

Anabel's eyes widened. "That mind…it's just like Vigo's!"

Ash immediately got what Leon meant, and was suddenly alert. "Wait…you mean that's…"

"Correct, little ones…" The voice was surprisingly level for someone with a mind like Vigo's. The man's gaze slid from the Pokémon to the humans. "It has been far too long, hasn't it?"

Leon formed his long, green Aura Spear. "Stay back, everyone. He's mine," he said.

Sarah gripped his arm. "I've got your back," she declared.

Leon pulled his arm free. "I will not allow you to put yourself in danger again, Sarah. Just leave," he said.

"You should let her fight, Leon…" The man tipped his head and released his arms from his cape, his hands blazing with purple energy. "Who knows what will happen if you don't?"

"I can take care of myself, Leon. I will not leave you a second time. I won't run, not anymore," Sarah said, gripping his arm again, more tightly this time.

Leon looked into her eyes, seeing strength and conviction, before running a hand through her head. "Promise me you'll do whatever you can to keep yourself alive," he said.

"I'll do better than that." Sarah began to glow with pink energy, and she lifted both her hands to the level of her waist, palms up. She began to levitate as well, smiling as several large rocks and branches began to float around her in a circle. "I'll keep both of us alive," she said.

Leon smiled before looking back at Ash and Anabel. "Stay out of this and protect Anabel, Ash," he said.

Ash nodded. "No problem. I'll join in if things get too rough, all right?" he asked.

Leon turned away. "You won't need to. I plan on killing him here and now, once and for all," he growled. His opponent had finished preparation, the all-too familiar purple fists acted. It had even begun to rain a little, just like that night all those years ago.

"Are you prepared?" the man asked.

Leon and Sarah looked at each other. "Bring it on…Master Averill!" Leon roared.

**Leave a comment below if you so wish. **


	8. The Former Master

**Well, I couldn't work on my other story as much as I wanted to, but the plot was thicker here; so I'll thin it out a bit. Besides, what will happen here is something that happened in the lighter version as well. In my opinion, it makes things all the more fun. **

**Enjoy while you can. It will only take one chapter for me to thin the plot out a little bit. **

The tension was thick in the air as the former master and students stared each other down. Ash, Anabel, and the Pokémon had promised not to interfere, so the stage was set. But Leon had one question.

"I know it makes sense, but how the hell did you survive?" Leon asked.

Averill grinned, tilting his head. "What? That's not the greeting I expected," he said.

"I'm not in the mood for games, Averill!" Leon roared.

"I simply did. Did you honestly believe that your retaliation was enough to kill me? Granted, I will admit that you injured me very heavily, and it did take me a few weeks to recover. Still, you should have killed me when you had the chance. I am stronger now, and yet the two of you stand in my way once more, along with your new friends. Isn't this nostalgic?" Averill asked.

"Wrong. Last time it was just Leon. Now you have to deal with both of us. Ignore Ash and Anabel. Your problems are with us!" Sarah declared, taking the offensive. Ten head-sized rocks from the ammunition floating around her flew straight at Averill. However, he was not deterred, eliminating all of them with a halfhearted concentrated energy surge.

As the blast's flash cleared, Leon suddenly appeared right in front of Averill, his spear coming down from above. Averill kept it back with both fists before suddenly releasing some of the concentrated energy in them, the resulting blast front sending Leon flying back.

While Leon regained his footing on the ground, Sarah sent large branches flying at Averill, practically arrows in flight. Again, Averill was not deterred, this time beating the branches aside as he rushed at Sarah.

There was an instant when time seemed to slow down for the combatants as Averill's left fist was on the path to collision with Sarah's face. That slow reverie was broken when Leon hurled a green Aura Sphere at Averill, one that made contact just before Averill's fist did.

Averill was blown back, sliding across the ground in his back, while Leon moved next to Sarah. "A direct hit," Anabel commented.

Ash gave her a look. "An Aura Sphere like that won't even come close to beating him, you know," he said.

Anabel gave him a withering look. "I'm not that naïve, Ash," she retorted.

"I never said you were, so don't act like it," Ash answered.

They were right. Averill didn't even have any visible wounds where the attack hit him. He was done playing now. With a roar, he threw six Poke Balls into the air, which opened to reveal a Scizor, a Weavile, a Crobat, a Dusknoir, a Magcargo, and an Electrode.

"So we're doing it that way, huh?" Leon asked as the six Pokémon charged him. Before he commanded a counterattack, though, Infernape, Luxray, Drapion, Flygon, Ninetales, and Lopunny moved, facing their first master's new Pokémon.

"So, my old peons stand in my way. Do as you wish," Averill said.

It was just like the fight against Vigo. Each Pokémon chose an opponent, and they began to fight to the fainting. Infernape and Dusknoir started a fistfight, but with Dusknoir's defensive abilities, even Infernape had trouble breaking through. Dusknoir even took a Flamethrower to the face without flinching. Still, there were others to help, as Infernape soon found out. As Dusknoir moved in with a Shadow Punch, Poliwrath blasted it with Surf. The two Fighting-Types of Leon's team were steadfast allies, and though they did have some slight rivalry, both of them knew how to combine their techniques in various combinations. It happened now, in fact. Dusknoir could not stand against the martial arts of Infernape and the sheer power of Poliwrath. It was soon downed by a Waterfall from the front and a Flare Blitz from behind.

Weavile was faring no better. It had already been having trouble against Drapion. With X-Scissor in its arsenal, Weavile had picked its opponent terribly. To its luck, it spotted the weaker Shiftry, and quickly moved in to attack what it thought would be an easy opponent. Unfortunately, Shiftry had been feigning weakness, and Weavile found itself blown back by a Razor Wind that almost literally cut like blades. It was downed by a Poison Jab from behind. The two Dark-Types of Leon's team grinned at each other for the victory.

Magcargo and Luxray were dueling, with the normal fire vs. electricity matchup. However, Magcargo was clearly at a disadvantage. Luxray was faster, much more mobile, and its electricity was the top-rate kind that, if stored, could power all the homes of Pallet Town for a good few months. Therefore, perhaps it wasn't necessary for Aerodactyl to fly in with a Stone Edge. Still, Luxray thanked it for the help.

Lopunny and Crobat were almost literally fighting in the air. Crobat was very unpleasantly surprised. It knew that it would be no match for Flygon, so it went after Lopunny instead. Unfortunately, it was unaware of Lopunny's acrobatics. The rabbit was well accustomed to fighting almost exclusively in the air. She was capable of leaping to heights well beyond average, and could maneuver herself to deliver painful attacks in the meanwhile, often ending with a calm landing. In battle, she wasn't just fighting; she was dancing. Which was why when Infernape saw her battling Crobat, he was not worried at all. He had no reason to, and even if he did, Togekiss's Aerial Ace on Crobat silenced them.

Unlike Crobat, Scizor was not a pushover. Steel-Type Pokémon were tough to beat, and Scizor, being a Bug-Type, was faster than most of them. If it couldn't outrun its opponents, it would outlast them, with his defenses. This was why Flygon was its opponent. The Dragon-Types were very powerful, and as Drapion said, Flygon was a queen. Still, even her powerful moves could hardly put a dent on Scizor's shell. Even when Floatzel joined in, Scizor was a tough Pokémon to beat. However, both Pokémon were able to use their speed to their advantage. Eventually, Flygon managed to drop Scizor from a good height, allowing Floatzel to ram it with a Waterfall.

Electrode was the only one left, battling against Ninetales and Roserade. However, the fact that it was the fastest Pokémon around made it a tricky opponent. With its electricity, it was practically an eternally exploding bomb that could activate at will. Still, the electricity that it used to keep opponents at bay was simply used to cause minor damage at best. The only reason that Roserade and Ninetales took damage from attempting physical attacks was because of the power they put behind the attacks, kind of like recoil damage. The two soon realized that the electricity was quite weak compared to true masters of the type like Luxray and Raichu. Therefore, there was no way it could keep out attacks like Overheat and Solarbeam. And there was no way that Electrode could stand after those two attacks.

As Leon and Averill clashed with Sarah intermittently firing off projectiles from her arsenal, Averill looked at his fallen Pokémon and frowned. "Tch. How pathetic," he said.

"It's not pathetic at all. You simply underestimated us," Leon said.

"They are working together. There is no shame in that," Sarah added.

"As are you two. Your trainer taught you well," Averill mocked.

That struck a nerve. "Our trainer was you!" Leon roared, his spear striking with more intensity. Still, Averill had a much more convenient weapon for defense. Unlike Leon and Ash, Averill could not drop his weapons, since they were actually gauntlets created from energy.

"Very well. I suppose I'll have to go all out!" Averill's eyes glowed, and the projectiles floating around Sarah suddenly changed energy colors and flew towards Leon.

"Sarah! What's wrong?" Leon asked as he found himself occupied with the new threat.

"I've lost control!" Sarah exclaimed as the projectiles flew towards her. Quickly, she built up a thick shield of densely condensed dirt in the nick of time. However, the projectiles were merely halted, not fully stopped, so Averill kept the attack up, nearly piercing right through Sarah's makeshift defense.

"She's in trouble," Anabel worried. Ash gritted his teeth, and his palms began to spark.

Leon made his move. Having fought off the projectiles, he charged straight at Averill, his spear beginning to glow more radiantly than before. With his spear out, Leon roared as he drove it towards Averill's body. Averill lost focus, and the sticks and rocks that were going into Sarah's shield lost their energy, allowing Sarah a break.

Averill was now focused on stopping Leon's attack. Leon's spear had been stopped mere millimeters from Averill's chest by a small, condensed field of energy. However, it was already cracking, even though the spear had only been in contact for a second.

"The Malachite Punisher," Ash commented.

"What?" Anabel asked.

"Leon's nickname back at HQ was the Malachite Punisher, because there was no shield or barrier that could fully stop his charge attack. The best psychics and Aura Guardians could do against him was either dodge his attacks or keep the point from hitting them directly, but still take the impact from the resulting blast front. Even I can't stand up to the full brunt of that attack. It's as if the ones who are blocking his attack always get punished." Ash said.

"So it's like a spear that pierces anything, even a strong shield," Anabel said.

"Exactly," Ash said.

They watched as Leon cracked the shield to the point of near shattering before Averill twisted away. The former master then attacked in earnest. As he came again, Leon thrust his spear forward, but Averill ducked with all the fluidity of a martial-arts master.

The spectators watched in shock as Averill landed multiple punches on Leon's face, stomach, and chest. Leon couldn't seem to react in time with the blows; the speed of Averill's attacks was like a Pokémon's Close Combat.

With a double-uppercut, Averill punched Leon into the air before jumping to his height and landing three hard kicks in midair, the last of which was a dropkick that sent Leon hurtling into the ground. With a roar, Averill swooped down and landed on Leon with both fists, resulting in a devastating injury. For the first time in a while, Leon screamed in real agony.

"LEON!" Sarah screamed.

Averill grinned at her as he held up the limp Aura Guardian by the front collar and gathered energy into his other fist. The spear was gone. "Poor Sarah. Your feelings for him are quite lovely. It's too bad. The two of you made such a good couple. Don't worry…you'll be next, and then those two over there." Then he looked inquiringly at Anabel. "Oh, right. I can't kill her. I have to bring the White Maiden back. Oh, well," he said, looking back at Leon, "I taught you well enough, I suppose. This was fun, but now it's over. Farewell."

"DON'T DO IT!" Sarah's scream resounded just as Leon's eyes snapped open. Just as the fist flew forward, one of Leon's hands held it back and blazed with green energy, burning it. His other did the same to the hand of Averill that was holding him up. Averill snapped both of his hands back, and Leon dropped, retreating a good distance.

"You are very resilient, apprentice. But you are helpless now. I believe I've snapped quite a few of your ribs," Averill taunted. He was right. Leon was clutching his midsection in pain, and his mouth was dripping blood.

"I've been a fool," Leon growled.

"You certainly have been. Challenging me is merely going to end up with your death," Averill said.

"No. Challenging you has been one of the best things to happen to me. It showed me how arrogant I am," Leon growled. Averill raised an eyebrow. "The truth is, the nickname "Malachite Punisher" got to me, and I began to think that it would be a long time before someone could stop me. But now you and Sarah stand before me. You can stop me because you are strong, powerful. Sarah can stop me for…other reasons."

"What is your point?" Averill asked.

"Because she is the only one who can stop me in the way she does, I must protect her. She means too much to me, and for me to let you kill me or her would be completely inexcusable. I'm not going to die here, and _especially_ not by your hand," Leon growled.

"How arrogant of you. Do you think you can best me?" Averill asked.

"Wrong in both statements. I _know_ I can best you. And…" Surprisingly, Leon grinned. "I'm no longer an arrogant fool. I now know that there's no way I can beat you if I keep holding my full power back," Leon said.

"What?" Averill hissed in shock. The others were of similar reaction, except for Ash, who was in deep thought. Was it possible that…?

"Ash! Sarah!" Leon roared, snapping him out of his thoughts. "I need a favor! Hold him off for just ten seconds! Please!"

"Y-you got it!" Sarah replied, creating her array of ammunition once more.

Ash grinned. He had expected this. "I owe you a favor anyway!" he answered, leaping into the fray.

Averill turned to face them. "How pathetic…" he murmured, his eyes changing color to control Sarah's projectiles as they flew towards him. However, Ash was ready to counter that. The blue sword was barely blocked in time, but Sarah's projectiles slashed his face. Averill growled as he began to clash with Ash.

Meanwhile, Anabel had noticed Leon had painstakingly reformed his spear, and was now gathering up green energy around it. As he did, the weapon began to glow even more radiantly. The particles of energy flickered as they gathered from eight directions. The size of the weapon went from its normal size to something far larger several times in just a few seconds, and its shape began to fluctuate, as if it was unstable. Still, there was something about the spear, and even Anabel, the one with the least training in the field, could tell that it was getting stronger somehow.

As per his word, Leon was ready in ten seconds, just as Ash got ready to attack again. "All right, I'm ready!" Ash heard and let his sword clang off of Averill's guard. "Move!" Ash leapt out of the way as Leon moved in to attack Averill with his fluctuating spear. As it stretched towards its target, the shape finalized.

Averill was flung backwards by the impact of the new weapon, one far more powerful than before. As he regained his footing, he was able to get a good look at Leon's new weapon.

A thin green cone-shaped lance was held in Leon's right hand. It was similar to his spear, but the cone point now took up much of the new weapon's length, and the handle was only half as long as before, though still long enough to held with two hands placed on top of each other. However, the energy radiating from the new weapon far exceeded the Aura Spear at its maximum levels. "It…it can't be!" Averill protested.

"The Aura Lance. It's an altered Aura Weapon. That kind of power takes years of training. My dad showed me his once," Ash said, rejoining Anabel's side with Sarah in tow.

"How does it work?" Anabel asked.

"You know that the best Aura Guardians can produce weapons that are composed of dense energy solid enough to kill someone, right?" Ash asked. Anabel nodded. "Among those few are Aura Guardians strong enough to change their weapon into a more powerful weapon of its class. A spear into a lance, like we just saw."

"Can you do it?" Anabel asked. Ash didn't answer that question, instead turning his attention back to the fight.

"That is the extent of your so-called full power? Do you honestly believe that you can stop me with that new lance? All it will do it slow you down!" Averill asked, rushing forward once more. His fists were held up in readiness of the thrust he knew would come. As Leon raised his lance, Averill got ready to duck. Bu tat the last second, Leon changed position.

Averill did not expect to be slammed from the side by the lance. As he was flung away, he noticed something: the impact actually snapped his shoulder, and Averill's right arm was now useless. Still, he regained his footing. "You are done," he heard Leon say. Averill looked up to see a repeat of the earlier charge. He growled and held out his palms in a firing position, expecting an easy victory.

"I told you that you are done!" Leon roared as he surged forward, his lance now held with the base of the cone next to his shoulder. Averill retaliated by firing a purple Aura blast from his palms. To his surprise, Leon did not stop. Instead, he pierced right through it, with the blast actually going past him!

"Leon is called the Malachite Punisher for another reason. It's because of his ability to focus all of his power into a single point, and maintain that focus without relenting. That's the secret to his attack. A lance or a spear user has to pierce a single point; otherwise the damage he causes is minimized. Leon is the best person I know when it comes to fighting with that style," Ash said.

"But isn't that risky? It's all or nothing, right?" Sarah asked.

"Right. Lose focus, and a spear or lance user is more or less certainly defeated. That's what makes Leon all the more impressive," Ash said.

Leon had finally reached Averill, but the old master had one last trick up his sleeve. As the lance point was just out to hit, Averill jumped backwards and got ready to fire again, and this time, he would land a shot to Leon's head. The man thought he had just one last chance. Unfortunately, he was sorely mistaken.

Leon grinned as the lance point flashed. The next instant, Averill was screaming as he was enveloped in a huge blast of green energy. The blast maintained its form for a few seconds before it dissipated. When it did, the blackened body of Averill crashed to the ground.

"I win, Averill," Leon growled. He dissolved his lance and turned to his friends, who were running towards him.

"Wait. How did you…reach that level?" Averill asked.

"Hard work and determination. I didn't cheat to gain extra power like your twisted breed. I don't take other people's powers. The power that I gained from training, as you saw, surpassed all the stolen powers that you've built up over all these years. I might be fooling myself, for all you care. Power is power. But face the facts. My power beat yours. That's all there is to it," Leon said.

"I see," Averill growled. "Kill me, then."

"No," Leon refused, leaning onto Sarah's arm. "To be killed in battle is an honor that you do not deserve. Don't make me change my mind." Then he took out his Poke Balls and returned all his Pokémon into them, with Ash, Sarah, and Anabel doing the same. Raichu took his usual spot on Ash's shoulder.

"Can you walk?" Sarah asked.

Leon smiled grimly at her. "I can with you around," he said. Sarah lightly slapped him, and he laughed as she helped him into the Battle Tower.

"We're going to have to call Proctor again, and we'll have to pay," Anabel sighed. She looked at Ash to see him glaring at Averill. It was juts now that she noticed that he had not dissolved his sword. "What's wrong?" She began to get worried when Ash stalked towards the fallen enemy. "Wait! You can't be…!"

Averill looked up. "What do you want?" he growled at the young boy. Ash did not answer, but he raised his sword so that the point was above Averill. Both Averill and Anabel quickly understood. "No! Wait! Please!" Anabel began to run towards Ash, trying to stop him, but she was too late.

Raichu averted his eyes as Ash unflinchingly plunged the sword into Averill's heart. There was no suffering; the blade went right through the ribs. There was no need for any cleanup, either; Ash turned all of the blade's energy onto Averill's body, the familiar blue flames cremating it.

Ash turned to see Anabel and Sarah looking at him in shock, but Leon did not looked surprised at all. Raichu only looked saddened. It was Anabel who spoke first. "Why…? Why would you…he was helpless!" Anabel protested.

"He would have recovered and attacked again. A man like that is different from an ordinary human. He would have struck, and Leon would be powerless to stop him. Besides, he should be grateful; I made it quick and painless, and then I cremated him. It was an honorable death for one who does not deserve it," Ash said without emotion.

"How could you be so cruel? He couldn't fight anymore! Why'd you have to go and kill him?" Sarah pressed.

"Because he would have reported back. I would prefer for knowledge of Leon's new powers to be known later rather than now. That way, they won't send stronger fighters now, when you two are still in need of training," Ash said.

"Stronger fighters?" Anabel asked.

"There are those who have powers that surpass both Vigo's and Averill's, and are far too powerful for us to handle. Aura Psychicorum has that kind of power, Anabel. In my opinion, it's better to eliminate one threat and face less in the future than to face them all in the same battle. I eliminate everyone that I consider true enemies. It's who I've become…who I am," Ash said.

"Leon, say something!" Sarah pleaded.

"I thought you would do that. We've worked together too many times for me not to expect something like that," Leon said.

"Yeah. When one of us defeats an opponent but did not kill him, the other one of us finishes the job," Ash replied.

"Agreed. I won't attack you for following that unspoken creed of ours. However, I will say this." Leon's impassive face grew into a furious glare. "If you ever kill an opponent that I've sworn not to kill, I will take you down, Ashvier."

Ash laughed. "Do as you wish. I only say that if I honor that request, you will do the same for me, Leontus," he said. "I'm going for a walk. I'll be back soon, so don't wait up." He began to head into the forest. "Oh, and a word of advice," he said, turning around. "If you're going to threaten someone, do it when you're not on the sickbed." He turned back and raced into the forest, disappearing into the trees.

"I can't believe him. How could he have done something like that?" Anabel asked, crying a little.

"He's probably changed since you saw him last. But to me, he's the same as ever," Leon said.

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked.

"For fun, the best agents of Aura Psychicorum get nicknames according to their styles, both battle and fashion-wise. It could be one of them, or a combination. Like mine, the Malachite Punisher. Do you want to know what Ash's nickname was?" Leon said.

"What was it?" Anabel asked.

"The Beryl Blade Demon," Leon said.

**That's a wrap. Please leave a comment below. **


	9. Before The Hiding

**I made this generally because I was bored. **

After Proctor had treated Leon for shattered ribs and various cuts and bruises, and Leon had paid him a bit more than necessary for his trouble, Leon, Sarah, and Anabel had gone to Anabel's two-story house in the middle of the woods, for means of a more confortable place to stay. As of this moment, they were all in Anabel's living room drinking tea. Leon had actually poured himself half a glass of red wine from a bottle that he carried around with him, but had to give it up when Anabel and Sarah scolded him for it.

"Leon! You're underage!" Anabel had exclaimed when he came in with his wine.

"It's non-alcoholic, and I only drink half a glass every four months or so," Leon had protested.

"It still has alcohol in it! Put it down right now and go get yourself some coffee or something!" Sarah had commanded.

Leon rolled his eyes. "Yes, Mother," he had said sarcastically, heading back into the kitchen. A minute later, he came back with a cup of Earl Grey tea. Anabel, still a little suspicious, sniffed it to be sure that he didn't spike it. He didn't.

"Don't you think Ash will get lost or something?" Sarah had asked.

"Really, Sarah, you underestimate him. He'll be able to search us out, no problem," Leon reassured her.

Now, the girls were sitting, facing Leon. His comment about Ash being nicknamed The Beryl Blade Demon back at Aura Psychicorum HQ was on their minds, and as usual, they wanted explanation, and as usual, they probably wouldn't like it. "The Beryl Blade Demon…you'd think that Ash was called that because he wears blue, which is what beryl represents, or even because he's so good with his sword. It's true on both explanations, but the demon part isn't because of his skill. It was because of his personality," Leon explained.

"What do you mean?" Anabel asked.

Leon looked at her queerly. "You certainly do want to know a lot about Ash, don't you? Well, let me put it this way. Ash wasn't always like what he is now, right?" Leon asked.

"Right. The last time I saw him four years ago, he was a fun-loving boy who enjoyed battling and his Pokémon," Anabel said.

"He still enjoys battling, and Pokémon battling is his favorite hobby. However, he was completely different when he went up against opponents with Aura or psychic powers. Anyone he fought ended up in the infirmary," Leon said.

"It's natural, right? He probably beat them like that," Anabel said.

"I don't think you understand. When I say anyone, I mean _anyone_. Whether they were strong, or whether they were weak…Ash put them all in the hospital. And not only that, he put them on the verge of death," Leon said. He then glared at Anabel when her face grew shocked. "Do you want to know how? It's because even when they gave up, even when they pleaded for him to stop, even when they begged for mercy…he didn't stop attacking until they had someone like me to restrain him. I was one of the few people who could deal as much damage to him as he could do to me. Just as I couldn't take him down, he couldn't stop my attacks. That's why I was always called in to stop Ash from killing his opponent."

"It was the same for when he was on missions. He would focus everything on protecting the client or doing his job. Nothing stood in his way. Anything that did was immediately taken out without warning, whether it was an overly curious civilian or an increasingly annoying reporter. Why do you think he killed those idiot gangsters that tried to rape you instead of turning them in?" Leon asked.

"That's exactly what I was wondering, Leon," Sarah said. Leon looked at her. "Why would he do that? If I remember correctly, your job back then was to observe us and not get involved, right?"

Leon's face grew thoughtful. "Yeah…actually, I've never really thought about it before. When Ash killed that leader with a slow torture method, I wasn't surprised at all. I mean, the brutality wasn't surprising, but the emotion was. Thinking back now, it wasn't at all like when he attacked someone in cold blood. He did it without remorse, or even anger. But when he saved you, Anabel," He turned his gaze back to said girl, "I could tell that he was absolutely enraged. Before then, he never contemplated how he was going to eliminate someone, much less do it out loud. He didn't even give them any warning at all. So why…it's as if…"

Suddenly, Leon's eyes widened in realization. "Of course! It's you!" he exclaimed.

"What?" Anabel asked, confused. Leon was about to answer when there was a knock at the door, followed by Ash walking in.

"Did you have a nice walk?" Leon asked.

"It was more like a run, really. Man, that was fun!" Ash laughed.

"How about a quick Pokémon battle with you? It's been too long," Leon offered.

Ash shook his head. "Sorry. My Pokémon were moving with me, so they need a break. Tomorrow, perhaps," he said.

"By tomorrow, we'll be out of here," Leon said.

"What do you mean?" Anabel asked.

"Averill and Vigo were probably both sent by some guy from the top brass. Otherwise, some of the other agents would have shown up to help contain them. The top brass are the top brass, and ordering the lower agents not to take action is child's play for them, no matter how much those agents want to fight. As a matter of fact, there's not much doubt that right now, a good amount of Aura Guardians and Psychics are on the hunt for us, probably for a handsome bounty," Ash said.

"It's a plus," Leon agreed.

"So what do you expect us to do?" Sarah asked.

"We will leave here tomorrow morning, and split up. Leon and I will train one of you girls each and protect you for as long as we can. We will have to travel, on the run. If we stay in one place for too long, Aura Psychicorum will hunt us down," Ash said.

"What about our jobs? What are we going to do about money?" Anabel asked.

"We both have bank accounts, each with huge sums of money. Aura Psychicorum pays very well, and it isn't powerful enough to shut the accounts down. Even if they were, many of them are honorable enough to give their opponents a fighting chance, which is why these aren't conventional villains," Leon said. Then he grew thoughtful. "Actually, I'll need a better word to describe them. Villains are always what one side calls the other. Opponents, then."

"There is no place to hide forever, but we will try, until we take down that cult. We'll even destroy the organization itself if necessary. Of course, when I say we, I mean Leon and I," Ash said.

"What about us?" Sarah asked.

"Our job will be complete once we finish training you to the point where you can defend yourself. We will not involve you in this war," Ash said.

"But it's against who knows how many enemies!" Sarah exclaimed.

"I almost feel sorry for them," Leon joked, before stretching and heading into the guest room that Anabel had given him.

"He's right. It would take a lot to take us and our Pokémon down. Of course, there are those that even we must be careful of," Ash said. He turned around and followed Leon.

"They are definitely hiding something," Sarah said.

"It's natural, I guess. But I'm worried about them. They might act tough, but somehow they still seem…vulnerable at times," Anabel said.

"I feel the same," Sarah agreed.

"I mean, seriously! They're the ones who are supposed to protect us, so why do I feel like we have to help them?" Anabel asked.

"Who knows? Maybe it's just one of those feelings that pass," Sarah said.

_Later…_

Ash couldn't sleep. Despite his brave words earlier, he was still very nervous. Even if he and Leon worked together, the chances of them making it out of a fight against all the agents of Aura Psychicorum were slim to none. He had no idea of the true enemy's numbers, but since the agents would probably work against Ash and Leon for the bounty on their heads, to say nothing of the reward they would receive for bring Anabel back, Ash could safely assume that the most, if not all, entire organization was hunting them.

Ash decided to go for a stroll. It always did calm his mind. Although he was careful not to tread on the sleeping bodies of his Pokémon, whom Ash let out of their Poke Balls, both Raichu and Glalie detected his movements easily, and both of them quietly but stubbornly insisted that they accompany him. Not wanting to wake up the others, Ash nodded his assent as he opened the window.

As they leapt out the window, Ash detected the Aura signature before he saw its owner. "Late night stroll?" Leon asked as Glalie closed the window. Infernape and Drapion stood at his side.

"Were you waiting for me here?" Ash asked.

"More or less," Leon said.

"They are coming, Leon. We must separate," Ash said.

"The thing about separation is that it weakens your forces in an attempt to cover more ground. And if there's anything I dislike, it's weakening attack power," Leon said.

"You can choose to think about it that way if you want. But you know what will happen if we choose to surrender. On the other hand, _they_ will come if we choose to resist," Ash said.

"Are we ready to fight them? We were only part of the force that is the fifth strongest in the organization, after all," Leon said.

"And there was no one in that group that could defeat either of us, and we could even defeat some of the agents in the first group. I don't know if we're ready or not, but we have to be. Anabel's life depends on it," Ash said.

"Be careful, Ash. There are dozens of times during wars in which certain feelings only get in the way, and most of those times end up with the person with the feelings facing a demise worse than hell. I can probably handle them, but I don't know about you. Of course, I will help you if I can, but I do it for Sarah. Not you, nor for the world," Leon said.

"I still trust you nonetheless, Leon," Ash said.

"I'm not certain that is wise. But you know what they say…" Leon began, taking a slight fighting stance. "When one fights another, both fighters are unmasked." Infernape and Drapion also got ready to fight.

Ash tilted his head. "No one says that…but I'll oblige you. Quick spar only, though. We need our rest," he said. Raichu and Glalie gained focused expressions.

"Not a problem," Leon said, rushing forward with Infernape and Drapion at his heals. Raichu engaged Infernape whilst Glalie attacked Drapion as Ash and Leon began to test their martial arts prowess against each other.

_The next morning…_

"Okay…why are they sleeping out here?" Anabel asked as she and Sarah looked down at the sleeping Ash, Leon, Raichu, Infernape, Glalie, and Drapion. The other Pokémon were right behind them.

"For all we know, Ash wanted to take a walk, Leon was out here, challenged him for a spar, and…things…probably got out of hand," Sarah guessed.

"Ash! Leon! Wake up!" Anabel commanded. All six sleepers' eyes snapped open and they leapt to attention.

"Sir, we were totally not sleeping on the job, sir!" Leon barked, saluting. Ash did the same as the Pokémon's arms were fastened rigidly to their sides…except for Glalie, who simply made himself look more rigid.

"What were you dreaming about?" Sarah asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"You don't want to know. Our days under our drill instructor were total hell…" Ash whimpered.

"Don't remind me, man…" Leon complained.

"Anyway, we're going to pack up our things, wash up, stock up, and take our leave. We'll go together as far as Vermillion City. From there, we split up and take boats to any region we want to train in. I think I'll pay a visit to Sinnoh," Ash said.

"Very well. I'll go to Hoenn. You're coming with me, right?" Leon asked. The question was aimed at Sarah.

"It goes without saying," Sarah said.

"Then you're with me, Anabel," Ash said.

Anabel nodded. As Ash and Leon retrieved their Poke Balls from the Pokémon that had conveniently brought them, something came up. "I have a request before we go," Anabel said.

Ash and Leon returned their Pokémon to their Poke Balls before Ash turned back to Anabel. "And that is?" he asked.

"I'm not going to be like you and disappear without a word. I should least talk to my parents and the other Frontier Brains," Anabel said.

"And what would we tell them?" Leon asked.

"The truth. They deserve to know," Anabel said.

This seemed to set Ash off. "Are you mad?! Who in their right minds would believe the truth?!" he demanded.

"Considering how quickly we believed it, the fact that it is the truth and not some made up story, and the fact that Scott was the one who wanted you to protect us in the first place, I'd say almost everyone we tell," Sarah deadpanned.

"I say we go for it. Even if they do decide to come after us, it's not like we can't fight them off or kidnap the girls from their houses," Leon said in a neutral tone of voice, as if he had no idea what he was suggesting.

"Were you dropped on the head as a baby or are you just that insane?" Ash asked.

"No, he's just that insane," Sarah sighed.

"I gathered that," Ash said. Then he shook himself. "But still! I can think of several things wrong with this!"

"Like what?" Anabel challenged.

"Like…uh…" At this, Ash stopped, framed his chin with his fingers, and got a thoughtful look on his face. "Um…uh…well, there's…"

"I rest my case," Anabel said, turning around to walk into her house. Sarah followed.

"Hey, wait, there's…" At this, Leon stopped Ash with a hand on Ash's shoulder.

"Don't bother. We're going. Besides, I want to meet Anabel's family," Leon said.

"You're kidding, right?" Ash asked.

"I haven't had anyone I considered a family since Sarah and Averill, and before that, I spent years as an orphan. It's been too long, and my memory of those "special family moments" are hazy," Leon said.

"The stone that was once thought to be your heart is beginning to crack," Ash observed. Raichu grinned teasingly at Leon.

"It never was a stone. I still had my Pokémon. It's just that with Sarah back in my life, well…you know," Leon said, disregarding Raichu's grin and Ash's knowing look.

"I don't, sorry," Ash said.

"Oh, come now, I'm hardly the only one this is happening to," Leon said.

"What do you mean?" Ash said, a guarded tone in his voice.

"We all know that the dear Lilac Maiden has you wrapped around her finger," Leon said.

"Oh, please," Ash said, waving a hand. Still, both Raichu and Leon could see the subtle hint of a blush on his face.

Leon laughed. "I'll stop. But remember what I said last night. Even if you think she doesn't affect you now, she will in the near future. It's just the way of things," Leon said, before walking into the house.

Before Ash followed, he muttered, "And the bastard cultists want to change that way."

**Okay, this was…relatively boring. Seriously, two or three weeks without updating and this is the best I could come up with?! I'll assume that's what most of you are thinking right now. **

**I actually wanted to put the meeting family and Frontier Brains** **scenes in this chapter, but I realized it would get too big and I really didn't want to put the update off any longer, so that stuff will happen next chapter, along with…the reaper. Guess what that means. **

**In any case, two of my stories, the non-motivational and stressful ones, have been deleted. You can guess which ones. In any case, please leave a comment below. **


	10. Old Friends

**I am pleased by the positive reviews that I got. Thank you, everyone. As a reward, I will be kind enough to put off updating my other story and give this one another chapter. Remember what I mentioned about the reaper in the last chapter? Well, here's some food for thought. In this chapter, the reaper will rise… **

**Enjoy. **

Anabel and Sarah stood facing their colleagues sitting in neat rows. On one side were Tucker, Greta, and Lucy. On the other were Spenser, Brandon, and Noland. Scott sat on the other end of where Anabel and Sarah were standing. The Frontier Brains were scattered across the Kanto Region, but they were all used to quickly reaching the main headquarters located in Viridian City.

Due to the explanation that the two girls had given, the expressions on their colleagues' faces…varied. Tucker had disbelieving wide eyes, Greta's eyes were even wider, Lucy's and Brandon's were impassive but still revealed some surprise, Noland had a comical expression of shock on his face, Spenser's eyes were actually OPEN, and Scott's eyes…well, he still had his sunglasses on, so one really couldn't tell what his eyes were like at the moment, but he had a frown on his face instead of the normal cheery smile.

"Any questions?" Anabel asked. Nearly every hand went up. "Brandon?"

"Allow me to recap. You are a target of some giant cult that's hiding in a secret organization, and they want to sacrifice for a reason that is as of yet unknown, and all this is what was told to you by two "Aura Guardians" that were commissioned to protect you by Scott?" Brandon asked incredulously.

"Yeah, pretty much. And that's why we have to leave. The organization will have time to gather if we stay in one place," Sarah said.

"That's preposterous! First of all, Aura Guardians don't exist anymore! And second, even if they did, how can we trust the two that were sent to protect the two of you?" Brandon asked.

"They do exist. I've seen the agent firsthand," Scott said.

The Frontier Brains looked at Scott in disbelief. "Wait, so you did ask this Aura Psychicorum to help protect Anabel? How'd you even know that there would be someone targeting Anabel, anyway?" Greta asked.

"I found a note in my bed that said so, and it also said to call Aura Psychicorum for help, so I did," Scott said.

Now everyone in the room looked at Scott weirdly. "You're kidding, right?" Anabel asked.

Scott shook his head. "No, not really. I didn't believe it at first either, so I decided to try it out." He paused. "But in the end, it was true."

"What makes us think that those two Aura Guardians are not causing this? This only happened after they showed up, after all," Brandon asked.

"I doubt that. Both of them were treated for shattered ribs, serious cuts, and other minor wounds. Why would they go so far as to hurt themselves so badly to gain our trust just to attack us later?" Sarah said, showing the Frontier Brains a copy of the medical reports that Dr. Proctor gave her and Anabel.

"Can we meet them?" Lucy asked.

"What?" Anabel asked, thinking that she had heard wrong.

"Can we meet them?" Lucy repeated.

Anabel and Sarah glanced at each other. "I don't think they would like that," Sarah said.

"Tell them that we can't trust them unless they show themselves," Lucy suggested.

Anabel sighed. "I will see what I can do," she said. She and Sarah stepped outside and closed the door. Leon and Ash were waiting outside.

"Well?" Leon asked.

"They want to see you," Anabel said.

"No way. Leon can go in, but not me," Ash promptly replied.

"They want to see both of you. We said there were two of you, so two of you have to go in," Anabel said.

"They might recognize me!" Ash protested.

"We'll tell them to keep your identity a secret, now get in there because there's no way in hell I'm facing six probably very intuitive Frontier Brains by myself," Leon said.

"No! I refuse!" Ash barked.

Sarah stalked up to Ash. "Get in there before I drag you in there," she threatened.

Ash sneered. "It's not like you can," he said.

Leon stepped forward. "But I can. In fact, I think I'll throw you in there, Raichu and all, and of course, I'll pay for the potential damages. So, what will it be? Will you walk in there like a civilized man or what?" he asked.

"Besides, I don't think you have a choice. The door's not soundproof," Anabel said.

"WHAT?!" Ash roared.

"Get in there," Leon demanded.

"Fine…" Ash finally relented.

Anabel led the way back into the room, getting the attention of the Frontier Brains once more.

"These are the Aura Guardians?" Spenser asked once Ash and Leon walked into the room.

"Why is the one in the blue trying to cover his face?" Lucy asked, taking note of the way Ash was pulling the brim of his hat over his face.

"Wait, so you didn't hear what was said outside?" Leon asked.

"No," Greta said, looking confused.

"Anabel, I thought you said the door wasn't soundproof!" Ash hissed in frustration.

"I lied," Anabel said, an innocent look on her face. Leon, Sarah, and Raichu all had wicked grins on their faces.

"What's going on? Why is he reacting like that?" Brandon asked.

"Come now. No matter how much he wants to hide his identity, the Raichu on his shoulder should give you all enough information," Scott said.

"What are you talking about?" Noland asked.

"This is a man that was once a brash young boy who's battled and beaten every single one of you, save Sarah. A boy who turned down the offer to become a Frontier Brain in return for more travel. And now he's back, probably way more powerful than before," Scott said.

"Scott, your riddles were never any good. Elaborate," Tucker said.

"No, please don't elaborate," Ash pleaded. He was silenced by Leon's Shiftry putting one of its fans over Ash's mouth.

"Noland lost to Charizard. Greta lost to Snorlax and Grovyle. Tucker lost to Swellow and Corphish. Lucy lost to Donphan and Pikachu. Spenser lost to Heracross, Swellow, and Sceptile. Anabel…well, you probably don't need reminding. And finally, Brandon lost to Charizard, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Pikachu. Ring any bells?" Scott asked.

All the Frontier Brains were now beginning to get it. "Wait. That's…" Brandon started.

Leon sighed in frustration. "Oh, for the love of…Shiftry, blow the hat off!" he commanded. Shiftry waved its fan, blowing Ash's hat off as Leon put his hand into Ash's hair, giving Leon a good enough grip on Ash's head to reveal his face by holding his head up. "Frontier Brains, allow me to reintroduce you to Ashvier Nova Ketchum,, whom you know as merely…Ash Ketchum."

"Leon…!" Ash growled. Leon grinned at him.

"Ash…could it be?" Lucy asked.

"You've been missing for four years, boy! Where and how have you been?" Spenser asked.

"Here and there," Ash said, clearly uncomfortable with the situation.

Anabel stepped in. "Ash didn't want to reveal his identity because of a reason I don't know. Can we trust you to keep it a secret?" she asked.

"Why? Has he done things against the law?" Tucker asked.

"Haven't we all?" Leon asked.

"You still haven't introduced yourself," Sarah said.

"Oh, right. My name is Leontus Firesect. Call me Leon," Leon said, bowing.

"Is what Anabel says true?" Brandon asked.

"Can I trust you?" Ash asked.

"You have our word that we will not tell anyone that we ever saw you," Scott said.

Ash glared at all of them searchingly before finally nodding. "Very well. Yes, Brandon. If I can trust your word, then you can trust mine. We cannot linger in one place. There are powerful people ready to kill her, and probably Leon and I in the process. We will merely train her and Sarah on the run enough so that they can protect themselves before we move on," he said.

"Yeah, so can Sarah and I have leaves of absence?" Anabel asked.

"Can we trust you?" Lucy asked.

"That all depends on you. Our contract with Scott was terminated when Aura Psychicorum started sending homicidal maniacs to kill us. In other words, we're doing this out of our own will for Anabel and Sarah's sakes." Ash said. Leon nodded, all traces of humor gone from his face.

"Very well," Scott said. A few of the Frontier Brains looked at him in surprise. "But you've got to promise me that you will watch over her, Ash."

Ash bowed. "I'm an Aura Guardian. When it comes to protecting people, there's no one better than me. But I promise that I will do everything I can to protect her," he said.

"Good, then. This meeting is over. We will tell any future challengers that the Battle Tower Brains are on a long vacation or something," Scott said.

_Later…_

"That was easier than I expected," Leon said when they were back at the Battle Tower.

"Yeah. Ash made it sound like he would rather have died than have his identity revealed in front of them," Sarah teased.

"I'd rather not talk about it," Ash growled, before turning to Anabel. "Anabel, where does your family live?"

"My mom can tell everyone else, and she lives in Ecruteak City," Anabel said.

Ash sighed in relief. "Oh, good, not a especially large place. I should be able to get by without being recognized," he said.

"You do know that Anabel might have to reveal your identity if her family asks?" Leon asked.

"I'll try to avoid that situation, but in return, you have to go in with me from the first," Anabel said when Ash looked at her.

"…Fine," Ash said reluctantly, releasing Charizard. Leon released Aerodactyl and Sarah released Togekiss. As Anabel did not have a Flying-Type, Ash allowed her to ride on Charizard, who, at the moment, was exchanging heated glares with Aerodactyl.

"Charizard, Aerodactyl, quit it, both of you! Charizard, take us to Ecruteak City! The two of you follow!" Ash ordered. Leon and Sarah nodded as they mounted up.

However, as soon as they took and gained a steady level, Leon spoke up. "All right, no time like the present," he said, tapping Aerodactyl twice. Aerodactyl screeched and flipped over, letting Leon let go and fall.

"Leon!" Sarah cried, then watched in wonder as Leon spread his arms as he fell, whooping. He actually spun once in midair, streamlining his body, before Aerodactyl flew under him again to catch him again. Then, Aerodactyl let Leon fall again, and once more, Sarah's heart jumped in awe and fear as Leon flipped twice before catching a grip on Aerodactyl's back as the Pokémon made a steep dive and rose back to the others' altitude.

"Ah, that was fun," Leon laughed.

"Leon! You scared me half to death! You're still injured, you know!" Sarah scolded.

Leon actually looked embarrassed. "Oh, right. Sorry," he said.

Sarah sighed, and then smiled. "That aside, that was amazing, Leon! How'd you do it?" she asked.

"Years of training, an amazing amount of courage, and a certain trust in Aerodactyl. Then again, maybe I shouldn't have done that. Like you said, my ribs are still healing," Leon said.

"You truly are an idiot, Leon," Ash called.

"Like you're one to talk," Leon retorted.

"Agreed," Ash muttered. Only Anabel heard, but she did not react.

It took less than an hour for them to fly to Ecruteak City, and as they arrived, Anabel directed them to a large house backed up by woods. However, there was a rather large group of people in the backyard. "Oh, yeah...today is my mom's birthday," Anabel said.

"Son of a…" Ash growled.

"Forget it, Ash. I'm going in," Leon sighed. With Sarah following Leon, Ash had little choice but to follow them. It wouldn't do for an unexpected landing of an Aerodactyl and a Togekiss to go unexplained. He truly didn't care, but it was a matter of principle for him.

The guests had already turned their attention to Aerodactyl, Leon, Sarah and Togekiss when Charizard lighted down. The girl on its back immediately caught the attention of some of the spectators. "Anabel!" an older purple-haired woman cried.

"Hi, Mom!" Anabel called.

"Your mother is Hall Matron Argenta from the other Battle Frontier?!" Leon exclaimed.

"Ah, it's good be recognized," Argenta sighed as Anabel and Ash dismounted.

"Gallade, use Psycho Cut on that boy!" Raichu quickly reacted to a wave of blue energy fired from a Gallade a few feet away with a jump and a Thunderbolt. The command was given by a man in his mid-twenties with glasses, bluish, almost violet, hair, and a magenta suit. Ash's eyes widened upon seeing him.

"Elite Four Lucian!" he breathed. Then, Raichu tapped his shoulder, and when Ash looked, the rodent pointed at another violet-haired, magenta-suited man, but this one wore a black mask. "Elite Four Will, too?"

"They're my older brothers," Anabel explained, before glaring at Lucian. "Lucian, what are you doing?!"

"Stay away from that boy! He looks suspicious!" Lucian ordered, before telling his Gallade to fire off another Psycho Cut. Once more, it was deflected by Raichu's Thunderbolt.

"Lucian! We're not even dating!" Anabel cried, a slight blush visible on her face.

"Oh, you aren't?" Lucian held his Gallade's arm back as he prepared for a another Psycho Cut.

"No! He's just my bodyguard! He's going to train me to help defend myself!" Anabel said.

"That shady man is your bodyguard?! I refuse to allow it! He won't even show his face!" Lucian declared.

"Oh, for the love of…" Ash threw his hat off, revealing a very familiar face to two other guests.

"It's Ash Ketchum!" a short violet-haired boy in green clothes and holding a net exclaimed, stepping forward.

"Ash! What are you doing here?" a woman also with violet hair and dressed like a pilot asked.

"Bugsy and Winona?! How many other famous relatives of yours can I expect?!" Ash asked Anabel.

"Only the ones introduced thus far," Anabel said. Ash sighed in relief.

"I think you have a lot of explaining to do, Anabel. To all of us," Will said.

_Later…_

"So that's how it is," Anabel said. The reactions of her family very much mirrored those of the Frontier Brains, only the amount of reactions was multiplied by three. The new reaction was a death glare from Lucian aimed at Ash, which Ash easily picked up on.

As such, he stepped forward to address any concerns that the guests could have.  
"I won't ask you to trust me for myself. I'm asking you to trust me for her sake. Oh, and I ask you to keep my appearance today a secret from the public," Ash said.

"Why?! Are you a criminal pretending to be by my sister's side, only to stab her in the back?" Lucian challenged. Argenta whacked him on the head with a spoon. Anabel opened her mouth to answer, but Ash took the challenge.

"I've been considered missing for four years. Don't you think that if I was a criminal, you would have heard of me by now?" Ash asked.

"Then why, Ash? Your friends May and Max miss you, as well as the hundreds of other people that you've met. I know as much from when Max battled me," Winona said. Everyone turned their gazes to Ash, including that of Leon, Sarah, and Anabel.

With so many eyes on him, Ash was pressured to answer, and finally gave in to the question that so many had asked him. "After I blew the Sinnoh League, I spent a good amount of time feeling sorry for myself. After that came intensive training on Mt. Silver under my late father, and then even more intense training under Aura Psychicorum. I realize now that leaving without a word was foolish, idiotic, and even ridiculous. I completely forgot that just because I've been unable to become a League Champion doesn't mean I'm a bad trainer. Even so, by then, I had become too separated from society, too detached, to return immediately. Thanks to Anabel's unintentional efforts, I am slowly returning to a society that may be ready to welcome me back…but in my current state, there's no way in hell I'm ready to welcome the restrictions of society back into the recently unrestrained life that I've been enjoying," Ash said.

"I can see where he's coming from," Leon said, stepping forward. "The life that we freelancer agents live is truly free, one in which we can do what we want. Aura Psychicorum's grooming caused our aversion to crime, but as freelancers, we are like unrestrained vigilantes. There are those who look down on us, the high-class fools who cannot even begin to imagine the benefits that the freedom of such a wild life gives, and they only see the negatives. We agree that without the bit of order that society provides, the world would be chaos. Still, society still houses the barbaric, uncivilized criminals, and that weakness is what we find so very contemptible. We may seem like barbarians ourselves at times, but we are still civilized. It is that one bit that marks the difference between the true barbarians and us."

"You've got the gist of it, at least," Ash muttered, before his senses suddenly flared. A second later, Leon's senses did the same. "Leon!"

"Everyone, inside now! Cram yourselves in if you have to!" Leon ordered. His tone held no room for argument, and many of the guests did as he said. Lucian and Will were among the last ones in, and Lucian tried to bring Anabel with him, but she resisted.

"Come on, Anabel!" Lucian grunted. Will came to help his brother, but Anabel's gaze was fixed on Ash.

"Go with them!" Ash ordered when he noticed this.

"I can't…" Anabel started.

"You can't do anything in this situation. An Aura Guardian's flying in fast! Go!" Ash emphasized the last with a raised voice. Anabel finally relented when Sarah told her to.

"He's coming. It doesn't feel like one of _them_, though," Leon said.

"No. But he's at least as strong as one of us. I'd say it's more likely that he got lucky and found us by accident," Ash said. Raichu gritted its teeth.

"He seems kind of familiar, though," Leon said, activating his Aura Spear. Ash did the same with his Aura Sword.

A few minutes later, a figure touched down on the backyard, causing a small explosion. The figure did not hide, but stepped out. He was a young man about Ash's age, and like Vigo, had a dark Aura Guardian's outfit. Unlike Vigo, he had an enormous black scythe composed of energy in his right hand. "You know how this will begin, Beryl Blade Demon," he said.

"Leon," Ash said. Leon nodded, dissipating his spear and joining the others inside. Anabel rushed up to him as he did.

"What are you doing? Ash needs help!" she exclaimed.

"He doesn't. I'm only one of his rivals. There is one other that rivals both of us, and that's him," Leon said, jerking his head towards the man outside.

"Who is he?" Sarah asked.

"I was hoping you'd ask. His name is Ian Araxes. Unlike Averill and Vigo, he is pure Aura Guardian. Still, he is not someone you want to meet in a dark alley. Remember when I said that Aura Guardians are given nicknames?" Anabel and Sarah nodded.

"Ian's nickname is the Grim Reaper. Within our group, the three of us, meaning Ash, Ian, and I, were the strongest. The demon, the reaper, and the punisher. And among the three of us, Ian was the most feared fighter. He is frighteningly powerful, but Ash has a score to settle with him. And I will not step until Ash has not a single bit of chance of winning. In other words, this will be a duel to the death," Leon said.

**That will be all for now. I'll leave you all in suspense for a while. I have another story to work on. **

**Until then, leave a comment below if you so wish. And for those that dislike my style, remember that I do not write for you. **

**Sayonara for now. **


	11. The Hunted

**I got bored. **

"If you don't mind, I would like to skip the warm-up. And get that Raichu off your shoulder. I know how close you are, but I would prefer it if you fought with no restraints," Ian said.

Raichu jumped off and Leon opened the reinforced glass door to the house to let it in before slamming it shut again. Ash noticed that most of the guests were gone, except for Anabel's family. "Do you know what you are fighting for, Reaper?" Ash asked.

"A bounty and a settlement of rivalry," Ian replied.

"If that's the case, then I suppose I shouldn't hold back," Ash growled, seemingly disappearing. The next moment, he moved right in front of Ian, attacking from below. Ian narrowly dodged the slash and leapt twice backward.

"You're not going anywhere," Ash said, chasing after Ian. Ian grinned and swung his scythe to Ash's unprotected left side. Ash saw it coming in time to grab the scythe with his left hand and toss it backwards before landing a cut that would have been fatal if Ian hadn't leapt backwards again and partially blunted the attack with a temporary but dense concentration of his energy.

"I thought we were to skip the warm-up. You are holding back way too much," Ash said.

"Like you're one to talk. This isn't even close to either of our full powers," Ian said.

"You really want to use our full powers here? You know how much destruction that would cause? If we were in some field or forest, then maybe I would consider it, but this is a city! No way in hell I'm going all out here!" Ash said.

"You're right. It would be imprudent to have our fight here," Ian said, before rushing forward. "But neither of us are really known for our prudence, are we?!" Ian let loose with a series of attacks far faster than what the size of a normal scythe would allow. Left, right, twice above, backhand, overhand, under, staff thrust…the attacks came in rapid succession, and Ash felt himself being pushed back.

Parrying, blocking, and dodging were the main forms of Ash's defense, but there were always ways to attack during defense. As Ash's sword swept aside Ian's scythe, Ash took advantage of the small opening to discharge a small burst of Aura into Ian's body. It wasn't much, but enough to push his opponent back and stun him.

This allowed for another opportunity for Ash to dart forward with another slash to the chest. Again, Ian partially deflected the attack, but since it was out of reflex, the barrier wasn't as concentrated as before, and the wound Ash's sword left was deeper, though still not fatal.

"That's the thing about battle. It takes but a moment to lose. No matter how skilled you are, you only have to get unlucky once," Leon said.

"And if Ash gets unlucky?" Anabel asked.

"I'll cremate him if necessary," Leon said. Despite his detached response, the tapping of his fingers against his folded arms betrayed his anxiety.

"I cannot hold back anymore," Ian drawled.

"You do not know whom or what you are fighting for!" Ash growled as he avoided Ian's attacks. He gritted his teeth as the scythe scored two slashes down his body. Blood gushed out, but Ash managed to ignore the wounds, albeit with difficulty.

"Our group has all been scattered, but we all decided to crush you and Leon once we got the job. I just had the luck of being closest to you, and a certain someone helped me get here," Ian said.

"And who would that be?" Ash asked, ducking under a scythe blow.

"Beat me and I'll tell you," Ian said.

The battle got more intense as Ash registered this. Although he was now fighting at higher levels, he was still being pushed back. He had suffered more grievous wounds. Aside from the cuts on his chest, there were of course various cuts and bruises not only from this fight, but also old scars from Vigo and Averill. Ian, on the other hand, was relatively fresh despite the deepening cut on his chest.

"He can't win like this," Leon growled.

"Aren't you going to join in?" Sarah asked.

"The Aura Scythe is an altered Aura Weapon. Even with my new lance, I might have some issues against Ian. Besides, I can't join in on this duel. It's one on one," Leon said.

"What's your point?" Winona asked.

"This is a duel to the death. It ends when one of them dies. But I doubt Ash will lose this one so easily. He made a promise, after all," Leon said, glancing at Anabel. Lucian was the only one who caught it, and sent a narrow-eyed glare at Ash as he and Ian clashed. Raichu looked worriedly at its trainer.

Ash, at the moment, agreed with Leon; he couldn't win like this. "Damn…" he growled as he dropped to one knee in weariness. His sword was fast, but Ian's scythe was faster.

"Come now. Is that all you've got? Do you honestly think that you can protect the White Maiden like this?" Ian mocked.

"Leave her out of this. She's nothing more than an innocent girl that your superiors dragged into our life! Because of them, she will now have to spend a good amount of her life on the run from people like you!" Ash hissed.

"And you will protect her, am I right? The Azure Knight…to think that the brass believe that a man like you could be a knight!" Ian sighed.

Ash gave a short chuckle. "You are right. If I can't beat you, there's no way I can protect her. So I guess I have no choice." With that, he discharged a certain amount of Aura into the dirt, throwing up a cloud of dust.

"A smoke bomb? Did you honestly believe that would work with someone like me?!" Ian roared, racing through the cloud and swinging his scythe in a wide arc where Ash had been seen last. To Ian's surprise, he missed completely. All his scythe swinging did was blow away the cloud of dust. Ash was nowhere to be seen.

Ian quickly expanded his senses, but to his surprise, he did not sense Ash. For that matter, neither did Leon. "Where did you go?!" Ian roared.

"Did he run away?" Will asked.

"A coward to the end," Lucian growled.

"No!" Everyone was taken aback at Anabel's sudden and violent outburst. Even Leon looked at her with wide eyes. "Ash wouldn't…Ash wouldn't run away like some coward! He's an Aura Guardian! And he promised me that…!"

Just then, Leon suddenly picked something up. "Wait." Everyone turned his or her attention to him. "It's faint, but…there's some sort of fluctuating energy. It's almost as if…" He let in a sharp intake of breath in realization, and Anabel's eyes widened.

Outside, Ian sensed it, too, and his reaction was much the same as Leon's, only his was in slight fear. A second later, the fluctuating energy began to grow more obvious, and it was closing in fast.

Ash burst out of the trees, one hand gathering in energy from eight directions as Leon's had against Averill, and the other behind his back. He rushed forward with surprising speed despite his wounds. "So you could still move that fast, huh?!" Ian hissed as he moved to counter Ash's attack. The scythe flashed as it hurled towards Ash.

Ash quickly reacted, knocking the scythe upwards with a blue sword formed from the energy. Ian used the momentum to launch himself into the air above Ash…unfortunately for him; he didn't notice Ash's smile.

Everyone looked on with wide eyes as Ash revealed what was in his other hand by slashing upwards with it as Ian was above him. Ian had a concentrated shield of energy as a precaution, but this time, Ash's sword completely cut through it, reaching Ian's chest and tearing a rend down the length of his chest.

Ian landed roughly on his back, but despite the cross of blood on his chest, he still struggled to his feet. "Aura…Twin Swords," he rasped as he took in Ash's new weapon. Both swords were blue, but each one exuded a power beyond that of Ash's old sword, and they were both longer.

"That's right. My altered Aura Weapon," Ash said. He rushed forward and attacked viciously, fighting with a ferocity and proficiency that was not possible for someone that just gained a new weapon after training with another for years.

"How long have you had this?!" Ian demanded.

"For a long time. I'm surprised none of you had noticed," Ash said. He then attacked in earnest, and Ian, despite his scythe's speed, found himself ill matched against the speed of Ash's swords. And it seemed that Ash was only growing faster despite his wounds. Before long, Ash literally destroyed Ian's scythe. "It's over," Ash said.

Ian stepped back in fear before gaining a look of defiance. "It's not over until I die!" he declared, rushing forward, his hands charged up with Aura in preparation to attack. Ash ducked under one palm strike of Aura and kneed Ian in the stomach before thrusting both swords into Ian's body from above as Ian doubled over.

Ian looked down in shock at the blades protruding out of his stomach and arms like thorns. He couldn't move. His arms were run through, and Ian felt it. Once Ash removed the blades, Ian knew that he would die from shock and sudden blood loss. He braced himself for the pain that he knew would come.

Unfortunately, he was prepared for a fountain of blood, not a cremation. Ian screamed for a second as he felt a sudden, searing hot pain throughout his entire body before everything went black for him. Ash had discharged all the energy of his swords into Ian, burning him to a husk just as he did with the lead rapist and Averill.

"I guess that's that," Ash growled as Ian fell, bathed in blue flames.

"A killer to the very end," Ian rasped mockingly in an alien voice with only the slightest hints of what it used to be.

"Who sent you here?" Ash asked as the guests stepped out of the house and Leon, Anabel, Sarah, and Raichu gathered around him to hear. The others stayed back out of respect and a little fear.

Ian breathed raspingly; his last inhale before his last word. "Sloth," he gurgled before finally falling to ashes. Once he did, the flames disappeared.

"That was…unusual," Argenta said. Even Lucian looked subdued.

"Sloth…" Ash muttered.

"I never expected…for them…to…" Leon couldn't finish. Both of them looked shaken—scared, even.

"What's wrong with you two? Who's Sloth?" Anabel asked.

"He is one of the Seven Sins, the most powerful operatives of Aura Psychicorum. An elite group of Aura Guardians and Psychics that have no peers but Iestyn, Aura Psychicorum's boss. The seven of them alone can probably take on the entire remaining mass of the agents of Aura Psychicorum," Ash said.

"Sloth, Gluttony, Greed, Lust, Envy, Wrath, and Pride. That's the order from the weakest to the strongest. Of course, I say this with speculation and rumors. Wrath and Pride have never been seen in public," Leon said.

"So what can we do?" Anabel asked.

"Anabel, you are not going with them! They are dangerous!" Lucian ordered.

Sarah glared at Lucian. "And what do you expect her to do? Stay here? That will make all of you targets!" she said.

"You cannot protect her. Look at you! You're scared of these Seven Sins! Frightened, even!" Lucian growled.

"You're right. I am scared of them. Anyone who knows what they are capable of would be a fool to not be afraid of them. But I will protect your sister. Even if it means losing my life," Ash growled, before stiffening and suddenly sinking to his knees. Raichu instantly moved to help its trainer.

Anabel looked at Ash, shocked. "Ash, you…!" she exclaimed, noticing the way he held his wounds.

"I'll be fine, given a good amount of rest. Aura Guardians…heal quickly," Ash growled.

"Ash…we need help for this. The Reaper is gone. Only two others remain. Out of all of our options, we have to rely on _them_," Leon said.

"Yeah. We have to find Victor and Marisa," Ash said.

"Who are they?" Sarah asked. She never got an answer from Ash; he had lost consciousness.

"Ash!" Anabel tried to support him, but he was a dead weight.

"Can we use your house to rest him?" Leon asked, taking hold of Ash's arm.

Argenta looked appraisingly at Anabel's face as she looked at her mother. Her daughter's eyes were brimming with unshed tears. "Please, Mom…" she begged.

Argenta sighed and smiled. "Come in. Bring him," she said. Lucian was about to protest, but Will put a hand on his brother's shoulder and shook his head. Lucian said nothing as Leon and Anabel helped bring Ash's body in.

"Who are Victor and Marina?" Sarah asked again once Ash was laid onto the couch.

"The Artist and the Songstress. Our ex-partners, really. See, we were all part of a group together within Aura Psychicorum; Ian, Ash, Victor, Marina, and I. We were quite close before we all went freelance, but Ian, of course, is not an option for help. We have to depend on them," Leon said.

"Are you going to find them?" Winona asked.

"We don't have a choice," Leon repeated.

**That's it. A bit on the short side, but I was actually at a bit of a roadblock here. The fight could definitely have been better, but I'll add more detail about Ash's new powers in a later chapter.**

**Leave a comment below. **


	12. Proof Of Power

**I don't own the song that appears in this chapter. That belongs to the owners of D-Gray Man, and is sung by Miss Sanae Kobayashi. If you haven't watched D-Gray Man yet, I recommend that you do. It's a very good anime. **

Although the people of the house had bandaged up Ash's wounds, Ash still slept for a good few hours after that, and woke up the day after his battle with Ian. Raichu greeted him as he regained his senses.

"Good morning, Raichu," Ash said. As he got out of bed, he noticed that most of his clothes were gone, and he was wearing an ordinary white t-shirt and blue shorts. His fedora was on the nightstand next to the bed, but he opted not to put it on, both because he wasn't decent and because he was indoors.

Ash quickly sensed Leon outside the door before said person opened it, holding a bundle of folded-up clothes. His eyes widened slightly at the sight of Ash awake. "Glad to see you're awake. Here," Leon said, passing Ash the bundle of clothes.

Ash unfolded them to reveal a blue vest, a grey shirt, grey pants, black socks, and blue fingerless gloves. "Something a bit less conspicuous," Leon said. Ash noticed that he had forsaken his cape in exchange for something "less conspicuous" as well. The difference between Ash's presented outfit and Leon's was that Leon's was a mix of green and black, and he didn't wear gloves. "Change into those. Lucian wants to talk to you." Leon then left without further explanation.

Ash rolled his eyes but did as Leon said. Before long, he was changed into the new outfit. He stepped in front of the mirror and smiled. He looked very different without his cape. Although it was quite warming for such a thin material and he did like the perceived barrier it presented, he also enjoyed an almost unfamiliar lightness without it.

As Ash stepped out with Raichu on his shoulder, he heard the distinct and soothing sound of a piano being played, and recognized the song immediately. "Fur Elise," he murmured. Aura Psychicorum, though tough on its disciples, did allow such things as instruments for entertainment. Ash's entire team, Pokémon and humans, had at least some skill in music with various methods.

Ash quickly stepped into the living room, where the music was coming from. The player was not Leon or one of his Pokémon as Ash expected, but Anabel. She played quite well, and he knew from experience that Fur Elise was not as simple as it sounded. Everyone in the house was present, and all of them looked entranced by Anabel's playing, except for Leon, who merely looked impressed.

While Ash stood in the doorway, Anabel put the finishing touches on her song, and when she was done, everyone applauded loudly, and she curtsied shyly.

Ash added his clapping as well. "Bravo, Anabel!" he laughed, letting his voice carry out. Everyone turned to look at him, and he kept his smile as he strode towards her. "I'm impressed. You are good," he said.

"That's an understatement. She learned how to do Fur Elise when she was six," Sarah said. Ash whistled, truly impressed.

"Anyway, I would like to discuss something with you now that you are awake," Lucian said.

Ash looked at him with a calm but strangely discerning smile. "And what would that be?" he asked.

"I am still not confident that you can protect my little sister," Lucian said.

"And do you think that you can?" Ash challenged, his smile quickly changing into a glare.

"Perhaps not, but I must test you nonetheless. I cannot hope to match you in terms of powers. But in Pokémon…that may be a different story," Lucian said.

"Is that so? Well, let's see then," Ash said.

"Wait. Really? You're not even going to think about it?" Sarah asked.

"No. But first…can I use your piano?" Ash asked.

"For what?" Will asked as Anabel gave her seat to Ash.

"I've been under a lot of stress lately, and the piano soothes me, especially when I play it," Ash said, stretching out his fingers. "Now, let's see if I remember how to do this…"

Ash's fingers immediately began to play a soft but slow tune. Leon recognized it immediately. "Musician," he said. Ash smiled as he began to sing softly to the music. It was in another language, but the song was beautiful nonetheless.

_Soshite bouya wa nemuri ni tsuita_

_Ikizuku hai no naka no honoo hitotsu, futatsu to_

_Ukabu fukurami itoshii yokogao_

_Daichi ni taruru ikusen no yume, yume_

_Gin no hitomi no yuragu yoru ni_

_Umare ochita kagayaku omae_

_Ikuoku no toshitsugi ga_

_Ikutsu inori wo tsuchi e kaeshitemo_

_Watashi wa inori tsuzukeru_

_Douka konoko ni ai no_

_Tsunaida te ni Kiss wo_

Ash finished the song with a short piano conclusion. By now, the others were staring at him, wide-eyed, except for Leon, who was much more placid in comparison to his normal dark glare or impassive face.

"Aura Psychicorum did a lot for me. It's a real shame that I might have to disband it," Ash said. Then he looked at Lucian. "All right, then. The backyard, right?"

"Okay, have fun," Leon said, turning to leave.

"Where are you going?" Sarah asked.

"To Olivine City, to take a boat to Hoenn where I hope I can find Victor. I already know the results of this battle, and have no interest in watching it. Come on," Leon said.

"But I want to watch the battle!" Sarah whined.

"You know how childish you sound right now, right?" Leon asked, raising an eyebrow. Sarah looked at him with puppy-dog eyes, but Leon turned away. However, after a few seconds of Sarah continuing to stare despite Leon's ignoring her, the young Aura Guardian finally gave in. "Fine. But if Victor for some reason leaves Hoenn before I get to him, I'm blaming you."

Sarah smiled and leaned close to his ear. "I'll be willing to accept whatever…punishment…you have," she whispered. Leon blushed profusely at the possible implications of this.

_Later…_

Argenta's backyard had apparently seen many good Pokémon battles judging from the large amount of scuffle marks in the lawn.

Ash and Lucian were standing on opposite sides of the field while the others watched on the sidelines. Without a word, they both threw their Poke Balls. Lucian sent out his Girafarig while Ash released Sceptile.

"They're not going easy, aren't they?" Leon commented.

"I'll let you take the first move," Ash said.

"Thank you. Girafarig, Shadow Ball!" Lucian commanded. Girafarig charged up a blob of dark energy in its mouth and fired it at Sceptile.

"Dodge and use Leaf Blade," Ash said. Sceptile sidestepped the Shadow Ball and seemed to literally fly at Girafarig with its green blades extended.

"Counter with Double Hit!" Girafarig's hooves turned purple and reared up as Sceptile moved in. Both Leaf Blades were parried by one hoof each. "Now Crunch!" Girafarig bit down hard on Sceptile's arm, making the giant lizard wince.

"Toss it!" Ash ordered. Sceptile bodily threw the giraffe off its arm, and it landed on its feet. "X-Scissor, now!" Sceptile's hands glowed white right before it slashed a cross onto Girafarig. The super-effective move, coupled with Sceptile's high attack power, made Girafarig squeal in pain.

"Girafarig! Don't give up! Use Psychic!" Girafarig's eyes glowed red, and the same red energy formed a field around Sceptile's body. Sceptile began to flinch in pain as the attack took control. Girafarig then flung Sceptile mentally towards a tree.

"Nice try! Sceptile, grab the tree and use Frenzy Plant!" Lucian gasped as Sceptile gripped the tree with its claws and held on despite the mental hold on its body. Then, Sceptile's body glowed green and it roared as multiple enormous roots erupted out of the ground and mercilessly lashed Girafarig a number of times.

When it was over, Girafarig was down, with the red energy gone from Sceptile's body. Lucian looked rather surprised, but returned Girafarig to its Poke Ball without a word. Ash did the same with Sceptile.

"You are very good, Ash. Girafarig is not a pushover," Lucian said.

"Nor is Sceptile," Ash retorted impassively.

Lucian smiled. "You look bored. I think you'll find this next Pokémon more interesting!" he declared, throwing a Poke Ball that revealed a larger-than-normal Bronzong.

Ash's eyes widened slightly before grinning. "You're right. This one is much stronger than Girafarig. In fact, Girafarig might not even hold a candle to Bronzong," he said, before expanding another Poke Ball. "All my Pokémon are roughly the same level, but I think this one will prove quite powerful indeed! Rise, Feraligatr!" The blue bipedal crocodile emerged with a loud roar.

"Bronzong, Calm Mind!" Lucian ordered. Bronzong's body shined brightly, and despite the fact that it had no change in facial expression, it somehow looked stronger than before.

"Calm Mind, huh? Feraligatr, use Waterfall!" Feraligatr surged forward, its body completely cloaked in a layer of gushing water. To Ash's surprise, though, Bronzong easily dodged the attack with a speed that was quite amazing for its size.

"Gyro Ball!" Lucian ordered. Bronzong's body glowed silver as it spun towards Feraligatr. The giant crocodile tried to hold it back, but even it could not withstand the enormous impact.

"Remember when I said that I knew the results of this battle?" Leon asked.

"Yeah," Anabel answered, her eyes still glued to the battle. Lucian was stronger than her, after all.

"I might have been wrong."

Ash was not done. "Feraligatr, Surf!" Feraligatr, already recovered from the Gyro Ball, summoned an enormous wave, and rode on it, heading straight towards Bronzong. Even with its speed, Bronzong could not move aside, and it was hit straight on.

"Got him," Leon commented.

"You really do underestimate him, Leontus," Will said, mockingly grinning at Leon. Leon glanced at him, and then looked on in surprise as Bronzong reappeared from the wave, looking relatively undamaged.

"That Calm Mind was stronger than I expected," Ash said. His eyes now actually gaining emotion as he began to smile.

Lucian smiled as well. "Bronzong, Psychic!" he commanded.

"Psychic again?" Ash asked as Bronzong's eyes glowed blue and Feraligatr was coated with blue energy. Unlike with Girafarig, though, Ash knew it would take much more than just raw strength to break through Bronzong's hold. "Feraligatr, Ice Beam once you get closer!"

As Feraligatr flew closer to Bronzong as it was swung dizzyingly back and forth, it was able to score a few seconds worth of Ice Beam onto Bronzong before it was flung into the ground with almost earth-shattering force.

"Bronzong, Earthquake!" Lucian ordered. Bronzong slammed its entire body into the ground, causing an earthquake that knocked everyone off balance. Feraligatr got the worst of it.

"Feraligatr, hang in there! Another Ice Beam!" Feraligatr held on thanks to its toughness, and fired another blast of freezing energy at Bronzong, this time scoring a direct hit. Of course, due to the type disadvantage and Bronzong's boosted defenses coupled with its already high defense due to it being a Steel-Type, the attack had relatively little effect at first.

However, Ash's grin did not falter. "Do you have any idea what you are doing?" Lucian asked, noticing the look on Ash's face.

Ash tilted his head. "You'll find out," he said.

"I won't give you the chance. Bronzong, Gyro Ball!" Bronzong spun forward towards Feraligatr, energy glowing around it.

"Feraligatr, Ice Beam! Repeat the attack for as many times as you can!" Feraligatr sidestepped the Gyro Ball and fired an Ice Beam at the passing Bronzong. Bronzong did not slow, and turned around to attack with Gyro Ball again.

"I can play that game as well," Lucian said. Although Feraligatr was able to repeatedly strike the spinning Bronzong with repeated Ice Beams, Bronzong did not slow at all. In fact, it seemed to get faster.

"What's Ash thinking? Doesn't he know that Gyro Ball is lessening the effect of Ice Beam?" Will asked.

"Knowing him, he's probably _been_ aware of it," Leon said.

"So why is he still using Ice Beam?" Anabel asked.

"He's probably got a plan, and a very risky one at that. He's always been a risk-taker for as long as I've known him," Leon said.

"What do you think he's planning?" Sarah asked.

"I have an idea…somewhat," Leon said as Feraligatr continued to fire Ice Beams while being forced to make more and more extreme moves to dodge the Gyro Balls.

Finally, Bronzong managed to strike Feraligatr in the side, blowing the crocodilian back into a tree. "It's over," Lucian said as Bronzong rushed forward for the Gyro Ball that would end the battle.

"Not yet. Feraligatr, Waterfall!" Feraligatr struggled to its feet and moved to meet Bronzong's Gyro Ball with Waterfall. The two Pokémon collided, and after a few seconds of pushing, they were flung back by the impact. Bronzong was able to maintain its levitation, but Feraligatr landed heavily on its back.

"Feraligatr cannot go on for much longer," Lucian observed as Feraligatr struggled to its feet, looking exhausted. "Psychic, Bronzong!" Bronzong did not respond. "Bronzong, what's wrong? Use Psychic!"

"I'm afraid it can't focus. Even steel can feel the effects of cold," Ash said. Lucian finally noticed Bronzong's condition. Patches of ice had gathered on the metal body.

"Those Ice Beams earlier…" Lucian realized.

"Ice-Type attacks might not have much of an effect on Steel-Types, but when combined with water, ice can have much more of an effect. Feraligatr, finish this with Hydro Cannon!" Feraligatr gathered up a huge dense orb of water and fired it at Bronzong. The dense ball exploded on impact, and when it was over, Bronzong was down, its eyes replaced by swirls.

"It looks like Bronzong has fallen as well." Leon stated the obvious as Lucian returned Bronzong to its Poke Ball.

"You are good," Lucian admitted.

"You definitely deserve to be in the Elite Four, Lucian. Not many people can reduce Feraligatr to such a state," Ash remarked, eying the panting Feraligatr before returning it to its Poke Ball. "You fought well, my friend. You've earned your rest. Now, then, Lucian…what are you going to do? Two of your Pokémon have been beaten, whereas I still have one in reserve."

Lucian smiled. "I must admit you are beyond excellent. Not many people have defeated Bronzong. But…" He inflated another Poke Ball. "They have almost invariably found themselves up against him!" He tossed the Poke Ball to reveal a very powerful-looking Gallade.

"Gallade…Lucian's taking things seriously if he's calling him out," Argenta said.

Ash knew this as well. He had a strong feeling that Gallade was Lucian's strongest Pokémon, maybe even comparable to Cynthia's Garchomp. As such, he could not hold back. "Raichu. It's your turn," he said. Raichu grinned and leaped off Ash's shoulder. It had been waiting for a good battle like this.

"Ash sees this as well. Everyone, watch closely. Raichu is at the very top of Ash's team," Leon said.

"Gallade, Leaf Blade!" Lucian commanded. Gallade's swords glowed green as he rushed towards Raichu. Raichu did not move until the very last instant before contact. At that point, it seemed to disappear.

"What?" Lucian growled. Raichu reappeared in the air behind Gallade.

"Too slow. Iron Tail!" Raichu's tail glowed and lashed Gallade in the face with devastating force, enough to fling Gallade to the side by several feet.

"Lucian released his strongest Pokémon, so Ash released his," Leon said. "The most powerful Pokémon in his team is not Sceptile, nor Feraligatr, nor even Charizard. It's Ash's starter. It's always the starter. While those three are evolved from starter Pokémon, they did not evolve from Ash's starter. That honor belongs to Raichu."

"Ash's starter was a Pikachu?" Sarah asked.

"Just as your first Pokémon was a Buneary," Leon answered as Gallade and Raichu continued to trade attacks. Raichu seemed to have a bit of an upper hand. "I've watched Raichu defeat many opponents ever since I met Ash. Its speed and power are second to none, and equaled by few. It's true Lucian's Gallade is a close shot, but close may not be good enough."

"How powerful is Raichu exactly?" Anabel asked.

"Let me put it this way. I once made a bad mistake while battling Ash. Long story short, Raichu ended up beating my Poliwrath and Shiftry before finally tying with Luxray. I lost that battle with three of his Pokémon still intact," Leon said, cringing at the memory.

"Raichu, Thunderbolt!" Ash ordered. Raichu jumped over the Psycho Cut that was aimed at it and fired a Thunderbolt at Gallade in midair. Gallade jumped up to Raichu's altitude.

"Gallade, Drain Punch!" Gallade's hand began to generate spinning energy as it aimed a punch at Raichu. Raichu was able to spin in midair to lessen the effect, but the attack still grazed it enough to drain energy.

As soon as both the Pokémon landed, Ash called out another order. "Raichu, Volt Tackle!" Raichu charged up electrical energy in its body and raced forward on all fours, electricity blazing around it.

"Gallade, Stone Edge!" Gallade fired a summoned barrage of sharp stones at Raichu. Though the electrical barrier Volt Tackle provided diverted a good amount of damage, the power of the attack was weakened as a trade-in, and as a result, Volt Tackle did not hurt nearly as much as it could have had it struck full on. Aside from that, some of the sharp stones did get through to Raichu, and it was not as fresh as it was in the beginning. Raichu was strong, probably stronger than Gallade, but there was not that much of a difference between their powers.

Ash knew this. Even if he didn't, the panting that both Pokémon were doing would have given him a good enough clue to realize that even Raichu would have difficulty defeating Gallade. Even so, he now realized that Raichu had the greatest chance. Had he used Charizard, Glalie, or even his own Gallade, they would have fallen quite some time ago. Sceptile was more or less the only Pokémon besides Raichu that could give Lucian's Gallade a true challenge, but it was still resting from its battle with Girafarig. And Feraligatr was out of the question.

"I admit that I never expected your Gallade to be so powerful, Lucian. I once watched him hold his own against Cynthia's Garchomp. If you really want me to show what I can do…then I'll show you a glimpse of what happens when Raichu goes all out," Ash said. "Raichu, aim your Thunder at the sky!"

Raichu's eyes flashed and it fired a enormous blast of lightning into the sky. Leon's eyes widened considerably before he grinned and (finally) unfolded his arms. "Oh, boy…it's going down," he said. When the others looked at him questioningly, he just held up three fingers. "In three…two…and one."

The lightning blast came down, all right…straight onto Raichu. Raichu closed its eyes and gritted its teeth in pain. Lucian raised an eyebrow. He wasn't stupid enough to think that Ash had given up. "What are you planning?" he asked.

"Give it a second," Ash said, watching Raichu, who had begun to glow golden.

As he said, a second later, Raichu's eyes snapped open, and the blast of lightning dissipated. However, the glow did not vanish. Raichu was now cloaked in a sheen of solid yellow matter that crackled with electricity every now and then.

"The fight begins now, Lucian Crystallium," Ash said.

"Gallade, Stone Edge!" Gallade summoned out rings of sharp stones from the ground and fired some of them at Raichu. However, they seemed to pass right through Raichu with no effect. Gallade scowled and fired even more stones, and again, they seemed to pass through Raichu as if they were mere illusion. "What's going on?" Lucian demanded. Gallade hurled the last few stones, and as expected, the stones seemed to phase through Raichu.

"How did that happen? Did that stuff cloaking Raichu somehow give it the ability to turn all attacks into illusions or something?" Sarah asked.

"You're kidding, right? If that was true, then Raichu would be invincible," Leon said.

"So what's going on, then?" Argenta asked.

"Raichu is dodging the stones and then moving back into position in a split second," Leon explained. Everyone, except for Ash, looked right at Leon in shock, and then back at Raichu, who had a smug look on its face.

"There are an enormous number of techniques and abilities that boost a Pokémon's attack power, defense, or speed. That which I consider the most powerful out of all of them is right before you, what I call the Thunder Armor. It gives the user a large boost in defense, but an even larger jump in attack power and speed. Allow me to demonstrate. Raichu, Iron Tail," Ash said.

None of the spectators even caught the moment that Raichu disappeared before it appeared in front of Gallade. The sheer force of the Iron Tail launched Gallade straight through a tree and into a rock about thirty feet behind the tree. The rock shattered on impact. The result was obvious. Gallade was done.

"One hit…" Lucian's eyes were wide behind his glasses.

"If it helps, I wasn't holding back. I had to end this quickly. Thunder Armor has several weaknesses. I can't use it against Pokémon with the abilities Lightningrod, Motor Drive, and Volt Absorb, nor can use this against Ground-Types. Likewise, this technique cannot be used to boost those Pokémon as well. Thunder Armor's greatest attribute is the adding of electricity to any attack for extra damage. Pokémon with the attributes I mentioned earlier are immune to those effects, so it's a waste of time and energy to use it on them. Besides…" Ash looked at Raichu, who was taking a few seconds to dissolve its armor. When it finally did, Raichu began to pant and sway. Ash caught it before it fell.

"Thunder Armor takes a huge toll on the user, and no matter how proficient the subject is, it always requires a huge amount of energy to even maintain it. That's why I only use it as a last resort. It really says something about you, Lucian. The fact that you and your Gallade were strong enough to push me to that extent is astounding to say the least. You are definitely a member of the Elite Four," Ash said.

"…I trust you with my sister, Ash Ketchum," Lucian said, returning Gallade to his Poke Ball. "You could be Champion with your skills."

"Thank you, Lucian. This was a good battle," Ash said, bowing slightly before giving Lucian a handshake and walking towards the shocked spectators. Leon, however, simply clapped.

"Very impressive, Ash. I can see how you were able to defeat Cynthia," Leon said.

This gave Ash another round of shocked looks. "You…you defeated Cynthia?!" Lucian asked, before shaking his head in wonder. "So I never stood a chance from the very beginning."

"I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to feel intimidated. Besides, it's not like I did it easily. She didn't even give me a chance to use Thunder Armor, and the battle went to the point where Sceptile won it by a thread by using Overgrow. It really could have gone both ways," Ash said.

The others didn't respond, so Ash shrugged. "It doesn't matter. She offered me the chance to be declared Champion, but I turned it down. No point in it. In any case, Leon," he turned back to the other Aura Guardian. "I assume you and Sarah will go find Victor?"

"Not a problem. He's probably making that art of his as we speak. I think you and Anabel will have an easier time in Sinnoh with Marisa, though," Leon said.

"I thought that you Aura Guardians tried to live secret lives?" Sarah asked.

"There are some that choose to live normal lives, too. Besides, it can be convenient sometimes," Ash said.

"So when are we going?" Anabel asked.

"My Pokémon and I will probably need another day or so to regain our energy. I've been doing too much fighting recently," Ash said with a small groan.

"Yes. While I do enjoy the rush of battle, it can get exhausting," Leon agreed.

"Tomorrow, then?" Anabel asked.

"Day after tomorrow at the latest," Ash promised.

**That…was actually quite challenging to write. I had a huge motivation block with this chapter. Mainly because of spring and the coming summer. I hate the heat. Winter's the best season for me. **

**In any case, sorry for the long wait, hopefully I'll update sooner next time, and please leave a comment below if you so wish. And check out my other story too if you wish. There should be an update for that one soon (I hope).**


	13. The Crimson Artist

**The last chapter was actually rather…under-received. I can understand why there was a lack of response, however.**

**Oh, well. Now then, the plot begins. **

Ash and Anabel were currently in the Hoenn region, at Lilycove City. They had left Anabel's house with many farewells and such things about a day and a half ago. During the ferry trip to Hoenn, Ash began to give Anabel some impromptu training and found, to his relief, that Anabel already had some basic training in martial arts thanks to Greta. He focused on improving her technique as best as he could in a day and a half, and although she was not even close to his level, he was confident that she could now defend herself against the regular assailant.

But her psychic powers were still far below average. Ash knew telepaths who could detect enemy presences from miles away, and break through his mind barriers with only mild difficulty. If Anabel was the Lilac Maiden, then her powers should have been at least as great as his own. So far, she had not shown any hint of that.

"Wait…so can you remind me why we're in Hoenn again?" Anabel asked as they left the ship.

"Well, I convinced Leon to switch places. He's going to find Marisa in Sinnoh while we're going to find Victor," Ash answered.

"But there was a reason that he wanted to find Victor himself, right? That's why he volunteered to do so in the first place. Is there a reason he didn't want to find Marisa?" Anabel asked.

Ash looked at her. Her eyes were focused, waiting for an answer. He gave a short but amused smirk. "Nothing escapes you, doesn't it? Very well. You're right. Leon and Marisa really don't like each other. Back when we were all part of the same team, the two went at it like a Seviper and a Zangoose," he said.

"So why did you ask Leon to find Marisa?" Anabel asked.

"It would mean a lot more if Leon himself went to ask her for help. If I had gone and told her that she would have to work with Leon again, it probably would have ended in her refusal. The fact that Leon is going to ask her would prove how much we need her help. Besides, I would probably be better at deflecting Victor's attacks anyway," Ash said.

"Attacks? Didn't you send a message to him or something about how we're going to meet him?" Anabel asked.

"Yeah, but I didn't get a response, which usually means, "come here, I'm waiting to kill you"," Ash said.

"So what you're saying is we're just going to find someone who's just waiting to kill you?" Anabel asked.

"Don't worry about it. Victor's good, but I'm better," Ash said.

"Can you tell me a bit more about him?" Anabel asked.

"All right. You should know whom we're up against. His full name is Victorien Gardaitos. Last I heard, he was in Verdanturf Town. Fitting, really. The guy's a real artist, and the peace of that place should really be inspirational. Then again, even for an artist, he's…eccentric," Ash said.

"Is he an Aura Guardian or a Psychic?" Anabel asked.

"Aura Guardian. All the ones in Ian's Tier 5 were. And I suppose I should warn you now." Ash released Charizard and pulled himself up onto its back before pulling Anabel behind him. "Hold on tight. Verdanturf Town is a good distance away. Take flight to that place, Charizard!" Anabel wrapped her arms around Ash's waist as Charizard shot up off the ground with a bellow.

"Now where was I? Oh, right. Out of all the members of our group, Victor was second-to-last in terms of battle ability, but the greatest in versatility. Out of all of us, he had the most options and techniques to use during battle," Ash said.

"Did it have to do with his weapon?" Anabel asked.

Ash turned around to grin at her, and Anabel felt a small flush of pleasure. "Right again, two for two. Victor's Aura Weapon is the Aura Chains, basically just linked ropes with two hooks at the end. In his case, they are red, the color for power. Unlike my Aura Twin Swords or Leon's Aura Lance, Victor's Aura Chains have almost no limit in the amount that can be used at once, and each chain can lengthen to as long as a tree is tall. Even if you destroy one, he'll have dozens more waiting. Of course, there is a weakness. The more chains he uses, the less the power of each individual chain. Still, sometimes he uses so many that it really doesn't matter," he explained.

"So how is it that you, Leon, and Ian could even beat him?" Anabel asked.

"We all managed to break through his defenses when he used too many chains. The more he uses, the more fragile they are, as I believe I've hinted at. Still, Victor's a dangerous opponent no matter how many Aura Chains he uses. Whether he uses two or twenty-four, underestimating him is probably the last mistake you could make when fighting him. It's very difficult to evade the Aura Chains, and he's not exactly above blasting you with an Aura Sphere either," Ash said.

"So what about Victor's Pokémon? Come to think of it, what happened to Ian's Pokémon when you…killed him?" Anabel asked.

Ash frowned. "Nervous about it? Don't worry. Ian was one of those few agents who never used any Pokémon. I think that was why he was so mean to us, actually." Anabel knew that he had caught her slight hesitation. He had just chosen not to acknowledge it. "Victor, though, has a…very strange taste. He puts beauty and elegance first, and only uses Pokémon that he finds beautiful and artistic. It's not like Sarah's case; he doesn't try to teach them how to keep looking good even throughout battle. Still, he spends his free time grooming them and puts a lot of…flair into his otherwise brutal attacks. His main Pokémon is a Smeargle, unsurprisingly. It's very weak stat-wise, but thanks to Sketch, its moveset includes Metronome, Acupressure, Assist, and Super Fang, so that kind of balances it out," he said.

Anabel smiled. "Let me guess, does he have a Ditto and a Kecleon, too?" she asked.

"You're half right. He's got a Kecleon, but not Ditto. He said something about it being dishonorable to use your opponent's strategies against them. Besides, Smeargle and Kecleon can even put up a fight against my Raichu and Leon's Infernape in Victor's hands. It's really cool, actually. He's worked harder than any of Tier 5 when it comes to Pokémon," Ash laughed.

"What about his other Pokémon?" Anabel asked.

"Weavile, Rapidash, Altaria, and surprisingly, Gyarados. It's actually really calm and placid for its kind, and Victor said something once about how he was transfixed while "witnessing the grace of a true sea serpent in the water"," Ash said. Anabel raised an eyebrow and was about to reply when she noticed that Charizard had stopped flying. "We're at Fortree City right now. You want to drop in on Winona or something?"

"I just saw her two days ago," Anabel declined.

"Yeah, but I haven't seen her for years before that. I might as well try to get some news out of her. Besides, Victor likes to come here sometimes to draw Flying-Types. He has sort of an affinity for them and once said that there were few things more graceful than a flying Pokémon in the air. I would have to agree with him," Ash said. Charizard roared proudly, and Ash patted its head. "Especially this guy." Raichu and Anabel laughed as Charizard lighted down.

After Charizard landed, Ash lifted Anabel off of Charizard before returning the dragon to its Poke Ball with a word of thanks. "All right. We'll go to visit Fortree Gym to see Winona before searching out Victor's location. Sound good?"

"Sure," Anabel said, smiling at him. Ash began to stare and blush as he began to think about how very pretty she was. He stopped staring after a second and began to walk towards the Fortree Gym. However, he was still deep in thought.

Ash recalled how he had thought that she was a boy at their first meeting. How could he not? She had short hair, a rather deep voice, and no…visible assets. But even so, he had seen the kindness and love that she put into her Pokémon. When she asked him to read her heart, he hadn't told the whole truth when he said that he felt nothing. There was something there, a faint sense of something soft and warm. He had not really paid it any thought. Back then, he was a rash young boy trying to beat the Frontier Brain and become a Pokémon Master.

And now? Although he wasn't a Pokémon Master in the sense that he had collected every single Pokémon, he was easily one of the greatest Pokémon battlers in five regions at least. But in that sense, many of the other agents of Aura Psychicorum were Pokémon Masters as well, so that was impractical. What was a Pokémon Master, anyway? Ash had thought about it, and his conclusion was that it was only an unreachable goal, with no point in reaching it, but every single point in trying. Children could dream about that plateau, but it didn't matter. What mattered was trying your best to reach that pinnacle, but never truly catch it. Otherwise, it would be a dead end.

Ash was happy with his life. He and his Pokémon were much stronger than they had ever been before. As an Aura Guardian, his duty was to protect. And he had sworn to himself that he would protect Anabel with all he had. She was like a beacon to him, shining in the darkness that his heart had unconsciously taken in, and it had already begun to change him. He wondered from time to time what he could see if he tried to read her heart again. For now, he was here to look for Victor, but he would have been lying if he had said that he wasn't hoping to see his old friends from Hoenn as well.

Ash suddenly felt a small shock to his mind barriers. His first instinct was to fight back, but he quickly recognized the mind. The so-called attacker was right next to him. "You really have to pay more attention. We're here," Anabel said. Ash sighed. While Anabel did not have even close to enough power to break through his walls, she still learned very quickly how to channel her telepathic powers into attacks powerful enough to at least grab his attention.

The Fortree Gym was open, and a receptionist greeted them as they went in. "Are you here to battle Miss Winona?" she asked.

"No. I'm here as family, and he's someone who's already beaten her. Just dropping, really. Can you tell Winona that we're here?" Anabel asked, gesturing to herself and Ash.

"Right now, she is locked in battle," the receptionist said, sounding rather nervous.

"Are you new?" Ash asked. Under his piercing gaze, the poor lady could only nod. "I will speak on your behalf and ask Winona to forgive you for letting us in while she's battling."

"But you can't…!" The receptionist was cut off by an explosion from deeper in. "Was that the stadium?"

"I rest my case. Come on. We should probably check that out," Ash said. Anabel nodded, and they raced towards the field, ignoring the receptionist's pleas.

When they got there, Winona and the trainer she was apparently battling were facing down a giant purple robot with a large red R in its chest. "Oh, no, not this…" Ash groaned.

"Prepare for…" Ash was already pretty riled up by this point, and stomped out into the field.

"Okay, that's enough! We know why you're here, and we know what's going to happen, so shut up and let me kick your ass from here to Kanto!" Ash snapped. Winona and the challenger stared. The challenger did look a bit familiar to Ash, but he was too irritated to care.

"How rude!" the one who started the motto seethed. An orange-haired woman and green-haired man became visible after a plate of steel near the thing's top slid away to reveal a window.

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Huh. I expected Jessie and James, not Cassidy and Bonbon," he said.

"The name is Butch, you got that!" Butch screamed.

"Shut up and stop wasting my time. How easy are you going to make it for me?" Ash wondered.

"Easy? I'll show you easy!" Butch growled. The window closed, and five giant mechanical arms launched towards Ash.

"Look out!" the challenger exclaimed. But Ash merely stood there and watched as the arms grew closer. Behind their plate, the Team Rocket members watched in glee…and then shock as the arms stopped short.

A glowing blue barrier had surrounded Ash, and the young Aura Guardian was standing inside, yawning. "Victor's chains are way more powerful than this," he drawled before abruptly bursting the barrier's energy in an outward surge, destroying the arms and blowing the machine back.

"What was that?!" Cassidy demanded.

"Power," Ash said, releasing Glalie from its Poke Ball. Team Rocket retaliated with another set of mechanical arms that shot towards the new arrival.

Anabel quickly reacted by releasing her new Pokémon. "Froslass!" A ghost-like Ice Pokémon appeared next to Glalie. _Shadow Ball!_ Froslass charged up a blob of dark energy that broke through every single arm and crashed into the machine, nearly toppling it.

"Nice shot! Now then," Ash said as Anabel joined his side. "Let's end this." He glanced at Anabel, who glanced back. In that moment, a signal passed between them, and they were about to call out a command when a Hyper Beam came out of nowhere and blasted the machine.

"It's been far too long, Ashvier!" Ash's eyes widened as a young man their age with combed white hair and clad in a red shirt, gloves, and shoes, and a gray vest and jeans leaped down from the stands, followed by a Smeargle.

"Victorien Gardaitos! Were you here this entire time? If you were, I'm surprised you didn't react when that machine came down," Ash greeted.

"Actually, I was drawing it. It was a work of art until those ridiculous arms appeared!" Victor mocked.

"Agreed!" Ash laughed, bumping Victor with his fist.

"Who are you?!" Cassidy demanded.

"You've heard my name, and I've heard yours. Cassidy…and Buck," Victor said.

"I just said the name is Butch!" Butch growled.

"No one cares…but I'll end this now. Smeargle, Assist!" Victor said. Smeargle's tail glowed as the Pokémon put it forward. A moment later, a star-shaped blast of fire erupted out of the tail and struck the machine. The flames crossed over and around, enveloping the machine and, after a few seconds, annihilating it. Cassidy and Butch crawled out of the wreckage.

"First Hyper Beam, then Fire Blast. You take the game of chance way too far," Ash said.

"The fact that most of my other Pokémon's moves are attack moves might help that, but sometimes luck just isn't on my side. Still, would you not agree that the game of chance is a beautiful thing?" Victor said with a leer.

"In a way…perhaps," Ash said, with some hesitance and backing away slowly. Victor didn't take notice.

"We're still here, you know!" Cassidy warned, before releasing her Houndoom. Butch followed by releasing Raticate.

"Glalie, return!"

"Froslass, you as well!"

Both Pokémon disappeared in a beam of light. Their trainers knew that the situation called for something different. "Show them your power," Ash said, throwing another Poke Ball that burst open to reveal his Gallade.

"Go, my friend!" Anabel released her Gardevoir, who emerged with her closed parasol held demurely point-down into the ground.

"Quick question, why does your Gardevoir have that parasol?" Ash asked.

"She's had a liking to it ever since we saw it while shopping," Anabel replied. Ash rolled his eyes.

"If you two are done flirting…" Victor said. Ash and Anabel blushed while Winona giggled in amusement. "There is no need for you to take part. I can end this by myself."

"By all means," Ash allowed. To Anabel, he said, "This will give you another opportunity to see what he is capable of."

"You are too kind," Victor said, throwing another Poke Ball. It opened to reveal an enormous Gyarados. "Gyarados, my friend…how long has it been since you've had some fun?" Gyarados roared in reply. "As I expected. Hyper Beam!" Gyarados roared before firing an enormous blast of light. Houndoom and Raticate never stood a chance against it. The blast blew them backwards, along with Cassidy and Butch, into the smoldering remains of the machine. Even this did not provide an able enough barrier. There was another explosion before Butch and Cassidy were launched high into the air and began to fly off.

"Where did we go wrong, Biff?" Cassidy whined.

"The name is BUTCH!" Butch growled.

"Team Rocket's blasting off agaaaaain!" Their voices faded off.

"Well, that was pathetic," Victor said, returning Gyarados and Smeargle to their Poke Balls.

"Believe it or not, they're actually _less_ incompetent than some of their teammates. I used to battle their fellow Rocket members Jessie and James almost every single…damn…day." Ash seethed at the memory before returning Gallade.

"So you're Victor?" Anabel asked, returning Gardevoir.

"And you are?" Victor asked.

"Anabel Crystallium, a telepathic Frontier Brain. Aura Psychicorum is targeting her so that she can be used as a sacrifice for the "goddess" Tenebris," Ash explained.

Victor's face instantly grew serious. "I believe you should tell me the whole story," he said.

"So you're not going to try to kill us?" Anabel asked.

"Why would I? I don't care about the bounty on your heads, or what the top brass are after. As long as I can show off my artistry, I'm happy. But it's a different story if an innocent civilian is being threatened," Victor said, looking at Anabel.

Ash looked at him for a long moment before turning to Winona. "Winona, I must apologize for this," he said.

Winona waved a hand. "It's fine, Ash," she said. She turned to her now-shocked challenger. "Can we have this battle tomorrow?" The challenger didn't answer; he only stared at Ash. "Excuse me? Max?"

This made Ash turn his head towards the challenger. "Max?" he murmured.

"Max!" A girl about Ash's age ran out into the field. "Are you okay?"

"May…I think…that's…" Max pointed a trembling finger at Ash.

"May?" Ash's eyes widened, and he found himself desperately wanting his fedora at that moment. "No…it can't be…" Ash began to back up.

But Anabel had realized what was happening, and gripped Ash's arm tightly. "It doesn't matter anymore, Ashvier Nova Ketchum. Too many people have seen you already. What's two more?" she chided. He looked at her and was about to protest, but she met his eyes with a calming smile. "I know who they are, Ash. I've met them too, remember? But I know for a fact that your friends want to see you. So reintroduce yourself. You will never be ready for readjustment if you can't even handle seeing your old friends."

Raichu added its own encouragement as well. After a moment, Ash released his tension, and smiled back at her while rubbing Raichu between the ears. "You're right," he said. Still, Anabel did not let go of his arm, as she was still worried that he would try to run off again. Ash did not protest, only moved his arm so that he was mimicking the escort position of two people entering a ballroom dance hall. In this way, he led Anabel to May and Max, understanding her intentions and certainly not complaining.

"May. Max. It's been far too long," Ash said, bowing slightly.

"It is you…it's Ash!" May said, beginning to tear up.

"Where were you?! Do you have any idea how worried everyone is about you?!" Max demanded.

"I do not regret my decision to leave, even though I knew it would cause pain. Besides, I am stronger now, more powerful. And I will not apologize for leaving," Ash said. Anabel looked pointedly at him. "But I do apologize for making you worry. It was kind of stupid of me, wasn't it?"

"Kind of stupid?!" May asked. She looked like she wanted to hug him, but held herself back. "Everyone…everyone missed you! Misty, Brock, Dawn, Gary, and especially your mom!"

"You can tell all of them that I'm back. But I can't see them yet. I have a job, and I don't know how long it will take," Ash said.

"Tell us! We can help you!" Max insisted.

This was when Victor stepped in. "Terribly sorry, but this is a need-to-know basis. You are not in any immediate danger, and the less you know, the better," he said.

"He's right. We're dealing with people who will end your lives without a second thought if they are so inclined to do so," Anabel agreed.

"I'm sorry, guys. I can't come home just yet," Ash said. He turned to leave, escorting Anabel, and Victor turned to follow.

"Ash, wait!" May cried. But Ash didn't look back. Only when they were about to disappear into the shadows of the corridor did Anabel look back at May and Max with a rather guilty expression.

_Later…_

Ash, Anabel, and Victor headed to Victor's main town of operations, Verdanturf, where the Crimson Artist stayed in a large house far from the Pokémon Center. The house was littered with unfinished paintings and canvas, like an art studio. A large desk took up one side of the living room. On it were several artists' tools such as pencils, compasses, rulers, etc.

"You want anything? I'll whip something up for dinner later, but I have all kinds of tea, coffee, soda…" Victor offered.

"Chamomile tea, please," Anabel said.

"Coffee, latte style, thank you. I've had a harrowing few days," Ash said. Victor walked into his kitchen and came out with a plate of three steaming mugs and a few packets of sugar in one hand, and a carton of milk in the other. He handed the chamomile to Anabel and the latte to Ash before taking a cup of decaf coffee for himself.

Ash sampled his latte and licked his lips before pouring in some more milk, and then tried it again. "Perfect," he said. Anabel nodded in agreement next to him.

"Now that you are both refreshed, tell me what it is you want," Victor said.

"Your help. Much as I hate to admit, I can't protect Anabel alone against the entirety of Aura Psychicorum. There are hundreds, or even thousands, of agents, and many of them have their own team of Pokémon. I need help," Ash said.

"Why do they want her?" Victor asked.

"There are some in the top brass that believe that she is the Maiden of the White Moon, a powerful telepath prophesized to bring back their goddess, Tenebris. Their goal is to sacrifice her so that she can be a vessel for the spirit. I don't know why, though," Ash said.

"Is there anyone else whom you can ask?" Victor asked.

"I can't trust anyone in Aura Psychicorum except for our Tier 5. Leon has already given his support in my endeavor," Ash said.

"Leontus Firesect? That's surprising. And what about the Grim Reaper and the Radiant Songstress?" Victor asked.

"Leon has already gone to Marisa for help. As for our leader…I could not convince when he attacked me. He put too much focus on our rivalry. I had no choice," Ash said, with a tone of regret.

"I can understand that. He was an all right leader, but he was quite the bastard to us, and he let the tension between the two of you cloud his judgment. Still, it is a loss," Victor said, shrugging. Anabel looked at him, somehow seeing that the artist was more saddened than he let on. Looking at Ash, she realized that he felt the same way. Perhaps the emotions that Ash claimed to be so suppressed were not as suppressed as they had thought.

"I'm more concerned about Mr. Firesect. Why is he helping us? Furthermore, why did you have him go to ask Marisa rather than yourself? The two of them can't get along, especially considering what she blames him for," Victor asked.

"Marisa has to get over it if we are to succeed. Besides, I think it shows how desperate we are if he went to ask her. And he's not doing it for us, I think," Ash said.

"Oh?"

"Anabel has a friend named Sarah Isecolt, a telekinetic who serves as a substitute Frontier Brain. She also happens to be Leon's childhood friend," Ash said, grinning suggestively.

Victor understood. "Ah! So that is where it stands!" he said. Then he looked quizzically at Anabel and back at Ash. "This is beside the point, but are you two…an item?"

Ash's eyes widened and he struggled to keep a blush from his cheeks. "Victor! Too personal!" he said, turning his face away from Anabel.

Victor looked at Anabel. "And what about you?" he asked.

"H-he is only my bodyguard, Victor! Our relationship is strictly platonic! We are friends, nothing more!" Anabel denied, blushing profusely.

"Yes, and we all know what always happens to a maiden and her bodyguard…but I'll leave that to your imagination," Victor said, grinning. "In any case, I will help you. Assuming that little Marisa does agree, if I don't join, then who will keep her from harm?"

"You always did have a soft spot for her," Ash teased, attempting to turn the tables.

It didn't work. "She is a star, an artist that nature created and one that I could never hope to match. She must be preserved," Victor said, keeping his composure.

"Thank you, Victor. We will meet up with Leon, Sarah, and hopefully, Marisa, over at Alamos Town in Sinnoh to discuss our plans. There's something there that I want to check out," Ash said.

"I see. Well then, I'll lead you to the guest rooms. I would want to save space by putting you two in one room, but I honestly do not want to think about what that would cause," Victor said. Ash glared at him and Anabel turned away, both of them with at least visible traces of blush on their faces.

Victor only laughed.

**Wow, this was a long one. Next chapter will show what's been going on with Leon and Sarah, and possibly a reunion. Also, I want to work on my other story, so the next update may take a little longer in coming out. **

**Leave a comment below if you so wish, and sayonara. **


	14. The Radiant Songstress

**I actually have very little motivation to update my other story again, so I'll work on this one. I left the plot too thick for its own good. **

**In this chapter, we will meet the last member of Tier 5. Oh, and I don't own the song that appears in this chapter nor any of the songs in any future chapters. The song in this one belongs to Miss Nami Miyahara. **

After they had parted ways with Ash and Anabel, Leon and Sarah took a ship to Sinnoh. Like Ash, Leon also gave Sarah an impromptu training lesson. However, it was more like a test to see what she could do. Like Anabel, Sarah already knew some martial arts, but she was more proficient at telekinesis than Anabel was at telepathy.

Therefore, Leon judged her to be in suitable enough shape for now. And by the time they arrived in Canalave City, Leon had decided a course of action.

"We'll fly to Hearthome City, passing over Jublife City in the process. They're the most likely places that a performer like Marisa would go," Leon explained, with a twinge of annoyance.

"What's the matter with you? You've been acting a little snappish lately," Sarah said.

"I can't believe Ash had me go find Marisa! Granted, I can see the logic behind it, but the two of us just don't get along!" Leon growled.

"We can't worry about that now. If you don't want to talk to her, then I will," Sarah said.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'll talk to her. The bad blood between us has to be resolved if we are to receive her help," Leon resolved. Sarah giggled. "And what's so funny?"

"Nothing," Sarah said innocently. Leon scoffed and turned away.

"Let's move. Soar, Aerodactyl!" The prehistoric pterodactyl screeched as it emerged.

"Let's fly, Togekiss!" Togekiss let out a piercing cry as it landed beside Aerodactyl.

The two trainers climbed onto their Pokémon's backs and let them fly. "To Jublife City first," Leon commanded. Aerodactyl took the lead, with Togekiss following close behind. Canalave City was not that far from Jublife, and they reached it in a matter of minutes.

When they landed in the middle of town, Leon seemed to hear something and looked around. "Hmm. What is that familiar sound? Ah, never mind. Before we start looking, I want to check something. Follow me," he said.

Sarah followed as Leon led her to a rather out-of-way bookstore. It was close to the edge of town, but the building was still rather well kept. Leon held the door for her, and she thanked him. He really was still a gentleman at heart, no matter how roguish he seemed at times. Still, that mix was what drew her to him.

"Welcome. May I help you?" the clerk called.

Leon approached the counter and stared the clerk right in the face. "I want no trouble, sir. Just give me the latest issue of _Vigilate Venator_. ID: 526708," he said.

"I must verify that, sir. Wait a moment," the clerk said. He entered the given number into a computer, and then Leon's face flashed up on the screen. The clerk visibly paled as he read what appeared to be a status report. "S-sir, I did not realize…"

Leon did not give him a chance to finish. "You know who I am. You know what I am capable of. Just give me what I want," he said.

The clerk hastily reached under the counter and brought up a thin magazine with the words "Vigilate Venator: Bounties of the Month" on its cover. Leon gave him two thousand Pokedollars, five times as much as the magazine was worth. "You can keep the change if you tell me something. Has the Aura Guardian Marisa Ramloss appeared in this town? Do you know where she is? And I expect the truth," he said.

The clerk looked around and leaned forward to whisper. "She is in the city, now, recording a show at Jublife TV. But you must be careful, sir," he said.

"Why?" Leon asked.

"There is a faction that has rebelled after hearing the truth, but a good many agents are hunting you and Ashvier down. Victorien and Marisa are also under suspicion. If what they are planning is true, then we must stop them!" the clerk hissed.

"I thank you for your trouble, sir," Leon said, taking the magazine and putting another hundred Pokedollars into the man's hand before turning to leading Sarah out.

"We all believe in Tier 5, sir!" the clerk cried. Leon stopped and turned back. "Tier 5 has always been kind to us lower agents, and Ashvier even sent some of my friends gifts after putting them near death!" Leon merely nodded before turning around.

"You are respected," Sarah commented.

"The members of Tier 5 all helped out in some way. Ian helped lead the weaker members in training and battle. Ash fought on their behalf whenever there was bullying involved. I taught them that being an Aura Guardian or Psychic wasn't everything, and how to survive with their own wits. Victor taught them how to train their Pokémon to excel, and how to understand their feelings as well. And Marisa…whenever the newbies needed someone to comfort them or talk to, she was always there, even though she was not much older than them," Leon explained.

"You sound like you respect her in some way," Sarah observed.

"I might not get along with her most of the time, but I've always respected her to a certain extent. She's Aura Psychicorum's most powerful Siren," Leon said.

"Siren?" Sarah asked, confused.

Leon looked at her sheepishly. "Oh, I never told you, didn't I? A Siren is kind of a cross between an Aura-User and a Psychic. They are always female, and a crossbreed between the two. Marisa's father was an Aura Guardian, and her mother was a Psychic. A Siren has all the capabilities of an Aura Guardian, but her Aura Weapon is her voice. With it, she can create feelings of peace or discord, or even heal wounds. A Siren's song penetrates to the mind, like the powers of a Psychic, although the sound waves have enough power to destroy buildings, like an Aura Guardian. And Marisa is the best out of all of them. That, and the fact that she's classified as a female Aura Guardian makes her special," he explained.

"I see," Sarah said, a little jealous of the way that Leon described her. Then she noticed something. A cloaked man had been following them for quite some time. He was omnipresent, being wherever Leon and Sarah went. "Leon…" She shook his arm, trying to get his attention.

"I know. We'll take care of it soon," Leon said.

They soon reached Jublife TV, where a crowd was gathering, strangely quiet. Leon looked up at the giant display screen, where a raven-haired girl about their age with striking red eyes and dressed in yellow had begun to sing on screen. It was a soft song, but she sang beautifully, and the TV amplified the volume by a huge factor.

_I wanna be a star_

_I wanna be a star!_

_That never stops_

_Oh shining down on you!_

_I wanna be a moon!_

_I wanna be a moon!_

_Like a gentle wind,_

_Oh softly touch your face_

_Feel my breath when you close your eyes at night_

_It's alright you were not the only one_

_I will be the waves carrying your board_

_I'll find your day_

_What do you want to be?_

_If there is a choice?_

_Do you have a dream?_

_That make you feel alive?_

The song ended with the screen fading to black, much to the loud applause of the crowd. Sarah clapped as well; Marisa was a beautiful singer. "I should have known. That song is called Sky, written and sung by a Miss Nami Miyahara. It's one of Marisa's favorites. She might not sing any original songs, but she's not looking for that, so it's all right," Leon explained.

"What's the plan?" Sarah asked.

"Go in, ask her, and deal with whatever comes," Leon said, pulling Sarah towards the entrance. Sarah rolled her eyes.

When they entered, Leon wasted no time, pushing through the crowd and ignoring the angered cries as he glared at the receptionist. "Where is Marisa Ramloss?" he asked a low tone.

"She is busy right now, sir," the receptionist hissed, glaring back at him.

"I am in no mood for games, madam. Simply tell her that Leontus Firesect is here to see her. If she refuses, tell her that I will not hesitate to blow this place sky-high," he threatened. Sarah looked at him in shock. His eyes were cold and his face was calm, but the hard edge in his voice made her realize that he truly would cause destruction.

"Hey! I don't give a damn who you are, get out!" A security guard walked up and pushed a thick finger into Leon's chest. Leon grabbed the guard's forearm and twisted it painfully to the side before flinging him away. The guard sat up, clenching his arm and crying out. The crowd began to go wild in their haste to flee. It took them five minutes to finally squeeze themselves out the doors after Leon's display.

"Now then…bring me to Marisa," Leon said to the receptionist. She looked terrified, but pressed a button underneath the desk. Immediately, a door to the side opened and two older males stepped out. Leon blinked in surprise at the newcomers.

"What's the problem, Carmen?" one guard asked.

"Get them out of here! Kill him! I don't care! The boy's a criminal! Look at what he did to Mark!" Carmen cried, pointing at the still sitting guard.

"I see. Look, kids, we don't want any trouble. We need you to leave," the second guard said.

Sarah got nervous. "Now what?" she asked.

Leon smiled at her. "I have this under control," he said, before turning back to face the guards. "I don't want any trouble either. But let me see Marisa first before I go."

"We won't ask a second time, kid. Get out," the first guard said.

"And I won't ask a second time either. So then…we are at a standstill," Leon said.

"That's enough!" a new voice ordered. Leon and Sarah turned to see the girl from the display screen walked out from the same door. She was still dressed in yellow, but was now wearing a white vest and skirt. "Why are you here, Leontus?" Marisa asked.

"Hello, Marisa. I need your help. Call off your dogs. I can't guarantee their safety," Leon said.

"You expect me to help you after you come barging in here and threaten everyone?" Marisa asked.

Leon rolled his eyes. "You and I both know that I would never do that. It would be a waste of time and energy, and I have no interest in getting the police on my tail, especially considering the fact that the organization's after me, and you, for that matter," he said.

This made Marisa scowl. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Leon took out the magazine, flipped through it, and showed a set of pages to Marisa. Sarah saw that it was a wanted list, with the faces of Anabel, Ash, Leon, herself, Marisa, and a white-haired boy with combed hair on it. "You didn't know? I can tell you why we're all on this list. It's partially my fault, so I owe you this much," he said.

Marisa hesitated, and then nodded reluctantly. "Let him in, and don't bother attacking him. He's too powerful," she said.

"Lady Marisa, we are Tier 1 members! We can beat him!" one guard insisted.

Leon's eyes widened before laughing out loud. "I can't believe it! Tier 1? You pathetic weaklings are part of Tier 1?" he mocked.

"What did you say?" the other guard growled.

"It's as plain as day to me. You guys might be strong enough to provide adequate protection, but you are far weaker than me. Your energy levels are absolutely pitiful!" Leon said.

"Why you!" One guard lunged forward, a pair of Aura Daggers in his hands. Sarah didn't even see him attack them, but Leon had expected it. He quickly moved in front of Sarah and his hand shot forward at the guard's face, grabbing it. An instant later, the guard screamed and convulsed as Leon's energy flared up from his hand for a few seconds. After that, Leon let the guard fall. His daggers faded away.

"Leon, stop it!" Sarah cried, terrified that the man was dead. Carmen was now trembling behind her desk.

"I only put him to sleep, Sarah, albeit rather painfully. He'll be awake in a few hours," Leon reassured. Then he snapped back to attention at the other guard, who was charging up an Aura Sphere out of blue energy. He then hurled it at Leon, but the punisher merely held up a hand. With a discharge of green energy, the blue ball disintegrated. "Ash's blue Aura is way more fun to evade than that," he observed.

"It can't be…how could someone from Tier 5…" the guard stammered.

"You don't get it, do you? The last time the tiers were organized was four years ago. My power has grown exponentially since then. You're behind the times, fool. The point of Tiers was to show who was the strongest. But now, the former tiers are more like units, and apparently the former Tier 5 is one of the strongest. I can't believe you haven't noticed yet. Marisa is stronger than you now. Read her Aura," Leon said.

The guard looked back at his mistress, who stared sadly back. "It's true. I've surpassed you long ago, Horace. You just seemed so happy protecting me that I couldn't let you go. But I have to now. Don't worry. Leon will be more than enough," she said. Horace looked disheartened, but nodded. "Now to see to Marcus…" Marisa kneeled beside the fallen guard and hummed. Yellow dots of energy washed over Marcus, and soon the twitching body was peacefully laying on the ground. She did the same thing to the guard with the twisted arm.

"Follow me," Marisa said, before leading the way through the door from which she had appeared earlier. Leon and Sarah followed, but not before Leon shot a warning glare to Horace.

_Later…_

"Do you want anything?" Marisa asked as Leon and Sarah sat down in chairs.

"Jasmine tea," Sarah said.

"Red wine," Leon joked, earning glares from both girls. "Sherry?" The girls glared harder. "Brandy?" Sarah smacked him. "Kidding, kidding! Espresso, if you have it," he said.

After Marisa poured the refreshments and gave them to her guests, she sat down in a swivel chair. "How is it that you can attack my guards like that with no regrets and then joke like this? It's baffling," she said.

Leon shrugged. "It's just me. Oh, and for the introductions. Sarah, this is Marisa Ramloss, our favorite Siren and Victor's muse. Marisa, this is Sarah Isecolt, the only person who can control me," he said.

Marisa laughed. "Controlling this fool is not something anyone has done. I'm honored to meet you," she said. Sarah smiled back at her while Leon glared at her.

"Fool? Is that how you treat the person who came to save your life?" Leon growled.

"It's how I treat you. Now what do you want from me? A healing job for your girlfriend, perhaps?" Marisa asked, gesturing at Sarah. The two guests blushed.

"She's not my girlfriend," Leon said.

"He's not my boyfriend," Sarah said at the exact same time. They looked at each other and blushed again, looking away. Marisa smirked.

Leon quickly regained his composure. "We're getting off the topic. What we will need probably will entail multiple healing jobs. Now that we've found you, all of Tier 5 has become involved," he said.

Marisa got more serious as well. "Explain," she said.

"Sarah is the best friend and assistant of the Battle Tower Frontier Brain in Kanto, Anabel Crystallium. She's a telekinetic, if you haven't noticed." Leon said. Marisa nodded. "But Anabel is a telepath that has even more potential than Sarah does, maybe destined to become the most powerful telepath in centuries. Aura Psychicorum is targeting her because they think that she's part of a prophecy. There's a faction in the top brass that believes that sacrificing her can bring back a certain goddess of darkness, and they've sent out three agents against us already, including our old leader Ian Araxes. Our old friend Ashvier had to kill him, and is with Anabel right now, asking Victor for help. If they succeed, we'll have a better fighting chance."

"So you need me to heal you, and possibly fight," Marisa said.

"I probably don't have the right to ask you this, but we need your help, Marisa. It's my fault that they're targeting Ash, too. I was the one who busted in and swore that neither Ash nor I would let them take Anabel. I might as well have painted targets on our backs," Leon said.

"And now you have the gall to ask me for help? What makes you think that I would help you?" Marisa asked.

"Are you really an agent of Aura Psychicorum? If you were, then you would never let this happen. You think Anabel asked for this? She's just a civilian, Marisa!" Leon argued.

"I won't be dragged into your fights, Leon!" Marisa growled.

Leon glared at her for a few seconds before smirking. "You're right. I was a fool. I was a fool to believe there was even a chance that a sheltered, spoiled brat of a noble's daughter would even think about helping us!" he snapped, standing up abruptly.

"And who was it that brought me out of that life, Leon! Who was it that massacred my family, destroyed my house and thrust me out of that sheltered life! It was you, all you! I was happy! And I still have lots of money, but now…now I'm fighting for my life every day!" Marisa cried.

"Were you really happy? All you were living was a pathetic excuse for a half-life, completely oblivious to the ways of the world! I merely showed them to you sooner or later! You'd be surprised how conniving the richest really can be, Marisa. Power and money corrupts. It's a truth of the world. Face it, make your choice, and make it quickly. Otherwise, I really have no business here," Leon growled.

Sarah slammed her hands down on the table. "Stop it, both of you!" she exploded. "I was wondering why you two couldn't get along, but now I know. Did you ever ask Leon why he destroyed your family? And Leon!" She turned to the green-clad young man, "Did you ever try to explain yourself?" The looks she got gave her an answer. "I can't believe this."

"I never meant to destroy it," Leon muttered. Marisa glared at him. "Sarah's right. I never told you, didn't I? Your parents were suspected of treason against Aura Psychicorum, so the organization sent me to them. They fought against me when I went to arrest them, and the fight went a little overboard. I couldn't hold back against them, so I released a little too much power, which caused a fire. I never wanted to kill them, merely arrest and question them, so I tried to save them, but it was too late. As they lay dying, they asked me…"

Leon took a deep breath. "Why did I fight for such a corrupt organization? I answered that all groups that large had corruption. They laughed and said that I had no idea how corrupt it truly was. But with a man like me, it might still have a chance for redemption. I asked what they meant, and they didn't answer, only pleaded with me to save their young daughter, and to protect her. I knew they were dying, so I left them there to find you, Marisa. I found you unconscious in your room, surrounded by flames. I got you out of there as quickly as I could, and went back for your parents, but the house crumbled. I got you back to Aura Psychicorum, and personally requested that you be placed in Tier 5 after they found out you were a Siren."

Leon chuckled as Marisa's face grew softer. "When I introduced you to Ash, Ian, and Victor, they all questioned me, and I explained the situation. Ever since then, you've been the one all of us wanted to protect, and none more so than that blasted artist Victor," he said.

"Why did you never tell me?" Marisa asked.

"It was a rash of bad judgment. You seemed to hate all of us and think that we were corrupt and cold. That was my plan. Eventually, you would come to hate the entire organization, and fight against it. I told the others what your parents had said, and we all began to see the bad blood, except for Ian. That's the real reason why Ash killed him, I think. Our old leader was blind to the truth. And targeting Anabel was the last straw. Now we want to crush it and begin anew. But we need your help, Marisa. Protecting Anabel won't be easy. Sloth was the one who sent Ian after us, and soon he will come himself, along with the other Seven Sins. I can understand if you're scared, but…" Leon trailed off, seeing Marisa's shadowed face.

"I still can't forgive you…the fact remains that you are responsible for my parents' deaths. Still…you're right. I realize it now. You and the others have always been there for me. Victor, Ash, and you, even after I treated you the way I did. We're all friends. I want us to be a team again," Marisa said. She walked over to a drawer and opened it, taking out a framed picture.

She gave it to Leon, and his eyes widened. "This is…" Sarah looked at it, and she gasped. It seemed to be a photograph of Tier 5, a younger version of the members clad in their Aura Guardian outfits. Ian was in the middle, sitting in a chair, one leg draped over the other. Ash was standing in the far left next to a charred target, petting Raichu as he faced the camera. Leon was leaning against the wall to the right, a book in his hands, but he was also facing the camera. The white-haired boy she now knew to be Victor sat facing the camera with a sketchpad in his hands, a picture of a chained demon slightly visible on it. And Marisa was kneeling a little behind Victor, seemingly looking over his shoulder. All of them were smiling contentedly.

"I look at this every now and then. Tier 5 was special. With only five members, we were bound to be friends at least. The Grim Reaper, The Beryl Blade Demon, the Malachite Punisher, the Crimson Artist, and the Radiant Songstress. And I will not refuse my friends aid," Marisa said.

Leon was shocked. This was not what he had been expecting. "I…don't know what to say. I suppose I should start with thank you, Marisa. We must leave for Alamos Town. Ash said for us to meet there. Hopefully, Victor will be there as well. We can discuss things further there," he said.

"I actually wanted to ask you to take me there. There's something in Alamos Town that I want to do," Marisa said.

"Ask Ash," Leon said.

"Okay. In the meantime, follow me. We'll stay at my condos." Marisa led them out, greeted the guards warmly, and they fell into step behind Leon and Sarah as the party walked outside.

One outside, Leon instantly noticed the cloaked figure that had been following them. He was standing, facing away from them Sarah noticed him as well. "Leon, it's that guy again," Sarah whispered.

"Hold up," Leon said, now deeply suspicious. He walked up to the man and grabbed him when he tried to retreat. "Who are you? What are you after?"

"It's too late…a force is going to Alamos Town," the snitch growled.

"You bastard!" Leon's fingernail grew and glowed with green energy and he stuck it into the man's arm.

The stalker quivered as he realized what had just happened. "No…no, please, not that!"

"You won't die," Leon said, before heading back to his friends.

"What's going on?" Sarah asked.

Leon led them off. "Let's go. We have to warn Ash. There's a force going to Alamos Town right now. We'll have to fight if we go there," he said.

Behind them, the man began to scream in agony as the Aura particles Leon had injected began to multiply and detonate. Marisa's eyes widened, and she quickly hastened the party on their way. Sarah looked back and cried out when she saw that a panicking crowd was gathering around the snitch, which was enveloped in green flames. "Leon!" she cried at her friend, horrified.

"He was an agent. The volume of energy particles I injected will be counteracted by his own. He'll survive…barely. We have more important things to worry about," Leon said.

"But…" Marisa cut Sarah off as Leon increased his pace towards a tall building.

"He is the punisher, Sarah. It's instinct for him. But he still cares about you more than anyone else," Marisa said.

"How could he…how could he do this?" Sarah asked.

"Power corrupts, and Leon is a good example of that. I would talk to him if I were you. I think he's hurting about this almost as much as you are. He never opened up to any of us. He and Ash both. But maybe…maybe he'll open up to you," Marisa said.

"I can't stop him…" Sarah said, tears beginning to fall.

The younger girl embraced her. "But you can help him. And I think that right now, he needs it. He needs you," Marisa said.

**And that's it. The next chapter will be the reunion. **

**Please leave a comment below.**


	15. The Performance

**Brace yourselves, readers. This is going to be a bit longer. Oh, and I don't own the song in this chapter. That is also sung by Miss Nami Miyahara, called "A Path." Try to listen to it on YouTube as the song's lyrics are shown to you while imagining the scenes that I have written. I can assure you that the experience is rather fulfilling if you succeed.  
**

As Leon sat on his bed thinking about the previous day's events, many thoughts came to his mind, first and foremost what he did to that agent. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn't help himself. Pain and torture came second nature to him now. In his days of being a controlled agent, he had probably hurt and killed even more people than Ash. It was the only thing he knew how to do best: fight. He improved on his reading and studying over time as well, and soon understood why Sarah loved it so much, but fighting was still his best skill.

Still, it didn't bring him happiness. It only brought pleasure, a terrible substitute. What was sad was that he never realized it until Sarah walked back into his life. When he had met her again that first day, he was shocked, confused, and regretful to say the least. But he longed for her, to hear her voice again. To see how she had changed.

But despite his entire confident attitude, he was still rather shy around Sarah. She had always been pretty, but now she had so much more of an effect on him. How was it possible? How was that someone like him could be reduced to this at the mere sight of one of his childhood friends? When he had told Ash that emotions could not get in the way, he was warning himself as well.

He cared about Anabel, he truly did, but if it came down to a choice between saving her or Sarah, he'd save Sarah first, and then try his best to help Anabel. He hoped that he would never have to make that choice. As with all agents of Aura Psychicorum, both former and present, Leon put duty very high on his list, and choosing between duty and…love? Was that what he felt for Sarah? Or was he just whipped? He could not be sure.

Leon started at a knocking at his door, followed by the girl of his thoughts walking in. He blushed…she was wearing a nightgown, and he would be lying if he said that the sheer cuteness of it didn't make his heart race. He sighed. He was probably whipped.

"It's early," he said. It was only 5:00 AM.

"Then why are you up?" Sarah retorted.

"Hey, blame Averill and my drill instructor. Remember how early we had to wake up for Averill? My drill instructor sometimes woke me up at three in the morning," Leon said.

"I didn't come here to make small talk, Leon," Sarah said.

Leon had a feeling, but wanted to put it off. Apparently, he had failed. He sighed. "I won't apologize for what I did, Sarah," he said.

"I didn't come here for an apology. I came here because I thought that you might need help," Sarah said.

"If anyone needs help here, it's you. I don't need anyone or anything," Leon lied. Sarah saw through it; it was that weak, and she looked pointedly at her friend. Leon sighed again, more deeply this time, and hung his head.

Sarah sat down beside him and put her hand on his back. "Leon, I talked to you when I needed it. You always helped me with my troubles. Do you not trust me with your own?" she asked.

"You wouldn't understand," Leon said.

Sarah smiled sadly. This was very unlike the Leon she knew. "I don't need to understand your problems. All I need to know is that they're hurting you in some way. So why can't you just talk to me about whatever's doing this to you?"

Leon said nothing for a few moments before burying his face into his hands. "What have I become, Sarah?" he asked, his voice muffled. When she didn't answer, he continued. "You said that I haven't changed when we were reunited, but I have. Did you see what I did to that guy? It was torture, not murder. In a way, what I did was even worse. I'm ruthless. That side of me will probably never change. How could you…even come close to such a man without feeling any fear? Is it because I truly am weak, so weak that…?"

Sarah shook her head violently. "Your lack of mercy is a little scary, I'll admit that. But I know what else you can be. You're steadfast, strong, and courageous, all qualities far from being weak! I've seen what you can do, Leon!" Leon looked up at her. "I've seen you charge straight into an energy blast from someone who could have easily killed you! I've seen you instantly defeat armed agents almost bare handed! I've seen you jump off an Aerodactyl and do flips several hundred feet midair! And I've seen how loyal you are to what you believe is right!"

"Don't you think almost all those actions are more stupid than brave?" Leon asked.

Sarah rolled her eyes. "The only reason that most people think they're stupid is because no one is brave enough to try them, and most people who do try don't know what they're doing! You, on the other hand, do! That's the difference between you and them!" she exclaimed.

"So how does this help me?" Leon asked.

Sarah sighed. "Because realizing that you know what you're doing made all the difference for me. Because now I believe in you," she said. Leon gasped as Sarah suddenly embraced him. "Anabel has Ash…but I have you. Do you know how reassuring it always was for me to be next to you? I know that I can trust you. In fact, neither Ash nor you can truly scare me. And you…you'll never let me down, or even if you do, it will be because of circumstances beyond your control."

"I promised myself that I would protect you, but promises like that are fleeting. A punisher who protects…it's all too ironic," Leon mused.

"You're the only person I know who can do that, Leon," Sarah said. Leon looked at her, and was struck by the mesmerizing look in her eyes. The word _green_ did not describe them well enough. _Emerald_ was more like it. Sarah felt the same about Leon's eyes. With his eyes colored dark brown, almost black, and that deep, wise look in them, Sarah may as well have been staring into a pit of emotion. They didn't know it, but they were unconsciously leaning in towards the other.

Then the door opened, and the moment was gone. Marisa stood in the doorway, looking slightly wide-eyed and _very_ amused as Leon and Sarah realized the mere centimeter between them and pulled away an instant later. "I'm going to pretend that I didn't see that, just to be nice," Marisa said, giggling.

"Why are you here? And why didn't you knock?" Leon complained.

"I've got Victor on hold," Marisa said, her face turning serious. Leon nodded and headed out the door, with Marisa and Sarah following.

He walked to the main entrance, where a pulsing field of yellow energy was emitting from a smallish computer-like machine. The entire setup looked like a stereotypical alien message. The difference was the image of the white haired boy clad in red waiting impatiently in the center of the field.

"There you are! I've been waiting for a good minute!" Victor snapped when the three walked in.

"That's Victor? I thought he would look a little more insane!" Sarah exclaimed.

"That's the thing about Victor. He's one of those people that don't have to look insane to be insane," Leon said.

"Oh, you're one to talk, Leon!" Victor growled. Then he grinned, which would be normal if not for the fact that he had the grin of an evil clown. "It's been far too long. Your quips are gratifying and were all too missed by me."

"I'm not sure if I should be happy or freaked out," Leon laughed. Then he got more serious. "Where are Ash and Anabel? And where are you, for that matter?"

"We're right here." Ash and Anabel's images appeared on the screen. It was Ash who had spoken, and Anabel was waving. "Hey, guys!"

"Ash, Anabel. We might have a little bit of trouble. I was unable to stop a snitch from getting a message to Aura Psychicorum about our whereabouts and destination. If you or we go to Alamos Town, you can expect an ambush, unless we get there first. Otherwise, we don't go at all," Leon explained.

"We're going. I have something I want to check there. Alamos Town's library has certain records and old stories that I want to see. The Space-Time Towers house it, and the building itself is a sight to behold. Besides, a certain someone wants to sing there, if I remember correctly," Ash said.

Horace, who had previously crept up undetected, now revealed his presence to the ones on the screen. "I protest! All you're doing is walking to your own deaths! I won't let you take Lady Marisa into such danger!" he spat. He only got a curious look from Anabel and bland looks from Ash and Victor.

"Who's this loser?" Victor asked.

"A "Tier 1" member," Leon answered, making quotation marks with his fingers. Ash and Victor looked at him for a brief instant before they all burst out laughing.

"That weakling's a Tier 1? I don't believe it!" Victor laughed.

"Believe it! I'm still having trouble with it myself, if that makes you feel better!" Leon agreed. Horace began to seethe in rage and was about to snap out a retort when Marisa lost her patience.

"ENOUGH!" she screamed, her amplified voice making the room shake a little. The boys looked at her, bewildered, before Sarah smacked Leon on the head while Anabel did the same with Ash and Victor. Raichu shook its head in annoyance.

"You're all acting like children!" Anabel snapped.

"You call yourselves men of honor, but teasing others just because they're weaker than you is just bullying!" Sarah agreed.

"None of you have changed at all. How ridiculous," Marisa scoffed. The boys actually looked ashamed for once.

"Now apologize, all of you!" Anabel ordered. The boys looked like children caught out in a prank when they each muttered out an "I apologize."

"Good. I do not expect this kind of behavior from you again. Especially you, Ash," Anabel said, turning away.

"Wow, she's got you on a leash," Leon quipped. Ash glared viciously at him. "In any case, if we do choose to go to Alamos Town, you can come with us, Horace. You and that other guy."

"We'll all help you protect Marisa," Sarah agreed.

"We'll get there as soon as we can," Victor added. Ash nodded.

Marisa looked at her old friends and smiled. Each one had a look of encouragement on his face, and her new friends had the same look, including Anabel, who had just turned her face back. "Thank you, everyone," she said, bowing.

"It's not a problem. Besides, I haven't used my chains in a week, which is far too long. I'm just dying to let loose," Victor chuckled, sparks of red Aura jumping around his hands. This was followed by a somewhat insane laugh that made everyone back away a bit.

"Okay…on that somewhat disturbing note, we're going to Alamos Town. Once you get off the ship, go there as quickly as you can. I've scheduled a performance for four o'clock later today. That's when they will probably strike," Marisa said. At the others' inquisitive looks, she sighed. "My song's purpose is to bring peace and hope to the soul. If the agents are targeting me, then what better time to do so than when I start the song? Just when people's hopes are rising…and then to suddenly stop."

"It would be very cruel indeed," Ash agreed.

"We're out. See you later, then," Marisa said, touching the machine with a glowing hand. The image disappeared.

"You know, we have videophones and PokeNavs. Why use this…computer thing? It looks like something out of a science fiction movie," Sarah said.

"I tried contacting Victor's home videophone first and got no answer, so I assumed that they were already on the boat," Marisa explained, picking up the small device and pressing a button. Instantly, it somehow transformed into an ordinary cell phone. "Each agent is given one of these devices to communicate. The one designed for Psychics opens by thought and designed to recognize the mental patterns. The ones designed for Aura Guardians require a small surge of Aura, and are tuned to that specific person's energy. In this way, even if they do get stolen, the thief can never use it."

"In any case, we should go," Leon said. The others nodded.

_Later…_

Leon's party had reached Alamos Town at noon after eating, and had wasted no time in heading to the giant Space-Time Towers. Once there, they were greeted by the couple, names Alice and Tonio, who oversaw the Space-Time Tower's functions. Once Marisa told them her name, they immediately escorted her to a hot-air balloon.

"We have to go up, and the elevator is in need of maintenance. We could take the stairs, but...it's a little high," Tonio said.

"Where are they?" Leon asked. Tonio pointed to a door that led to a high winding staircase that rose further than Leon could see. Even so, Leon grinned. "Perfect! These will do for some exercise!" He removed his coat and handed it to Sarah. "Take care of this for me, please?"

"Of course," Sarah said, although her eyes betrayed a question. Leon did not acknowledge it as he began to run straight up the stairs.

"Your friend is a little crazy, isn't he?" Alice commented.

"He'll be fine," Sarah said as they walked back to the balloon.

It took the balloon about fifteen minutes to get to the top, and Alice and Tonio led Sarah and Marisa to a magnificent array of machines. Leon was already there, but not entirely coherent. He was pretty much passed out on the floor in front of the stairs leading downstairs, seemingly exhausted. A blue-haired girl was anxiously kneeling next to him, and what seemed to be her Piplup whacking his face lightly. "He just climbed up here and passed out," the girl said when the others showed up.

"He's always doing this…" Sarah sighed. Marisa kneeled down and crooned a little, yellow energy flowing from her mouth and settling on Leon. A second later, Leon pushed himself up.

"You won, Leon," Marisa said. Leon simply made a sound that was a cross between a groan and a sigh as he lay facedown.

"Dawn, why are you up here?" Alice asked.

"Well, I wanted to meet Miss Ramloss," Dawn said, looking a little shy.

"And? What do you want from me?" Marisa asked.

"Oh my Arceus, it is you! I'm a huge fan! You're such a good singer, and, and…oh my, Arceus." Dawn continued to rant, and Marisa merely nodded along with it, but the Songstress looked a little annoyed. Then, a haunting tune began to play out of Leon's coat, and the fallen boy snapped up instantly, taking his coat and producing a green version of the device that Marisa had.

"Ash," he stated, ignoring the weird looks he got. He touched the phone with a glowing green palm, and it expanded into the small computer that produced an image of Ash. "What's up?"

"We've just arrived in Canalave City. We should be there by the time the performance starts," Ash said.

"Ash…is that you?" Dawn asked, looking at the produced image. Ash looked at the blue-haired girl, confused for a moment until Raichu tapped him, and his eyes widened.

"What the…Dawn?!" Ash exclaimed. Then he noticed Alice and Tonio. "Okay, I was expecting Alice and Tonio, but Dawn?! What are you doing there?!"

"How have you been, Ash? Is that Raichu your Pikachu?" Dawn asked.

"That is something that I will not share over the field. Sayonara," Ash said, cutting off the connection. Leon shook his head as he turned the device off.

"There goes the idiot, here come the questions," Leon sighed. As he expected, Dawn was about to approach him with questions, but he held up a hand. "Your old friend is coming to Alamos Town. Ask him then." Dawn's eyes widened, and she nodded dumbly.

"Now that that's taken care of…I think it's time to set up," Marisa said.

_Later…_

The stage was set. The new installments recently made to the Space-Time Towers would allow singers to add their music to the already vast sound disc collection. Marisa was going to test it, the main reason why she was there. However, it was the setup that Leon, Marisa, and her guards did that was the most important to the said people.

Leon had sent Luxray, Drapion, and Shiftry around the city. Each one, through Leon's rough interpreting, reported agents gathered en masse outside the town, yet hidden from the general public. Before the show began, Marisa asked all the residents of the town to stay inside. She would be singing from inside two layers of barrier set up by Leon and herself. The barriers would not obstruct sound in any way, but they would definitely keep out a lot of agents for enough time for Marisa's guards, Sarah, and their Pokémon to react.

But Leon had the most important role of all: to rebuff any agent who tried to enter the town. He and Marisa had encased the town in an enormous barrier, a huge version of the one they had constructed in the music room. That way, he had more opportunity to repel any invaders that chose to attack. He and his Pokémon only numbered seven in all. Ash and the others had to come, and soon. Their lives depended on it.

Sarah had wanted to go with Leon, but he adamantly refused. She was getting stronger, but she would only serve to cause him worry if she was in the field. She was insistent, but Leon was too stubborn for her, and she made him promise that he would return. He did, and with a glow in her eyes, she had pecked him on the lips lightly and whispered that she would hold it to him before moving inside the barrier. Leon was still thinking about that light kiss.

But now was not the time. As the agents approached only to find his small party at the gates, Leon knew that it was all or nothing. Therefore, there was no hesitation in his head as he activated the Aura Lance. And so, as Leon and his Pokémon roared a challenge to the opponent, as Ash, Anabel, and Victor flew over Jublife City, and as darkening clouds hid the setting sun, Marisa began to sing.

_You listen to my voice,_

_Listen to my heart, _

_Now I see it clearly_

_You listen to your voice,_

_Listen to your heart_

_Do you even smile?_

_There is nothing you can't do_

_Only you can do to make yourself happy_

_You listen to your voice _

_Listen to your heart_

_Make yourself live_

Poliwrath attacked much of the enemy with Surf, and Infernape attacked with Blast Burn. The attacks swept through the field, disorienting much of the enemy.

_We are free _

_Like water flows_

The first agent attacked Leon with disastrous results as Leon impaled him, and then proceeded to literally blow more agents away with a swing of his lance. Infernape and Poliwrath easily outmatched their opponents with sheer fighting technique. Luxray was like its master, charging right through with electricity emission shocking any enemy that got close. Shiftry and Drapion were both using the cover of the growing darkness to strike from the shadows. And Aerodactyl was nearly unstoppable in the air, fast enough to easily outpace its opponents in midair and then defeat them with a Rock-Type attack.

_We are one _

_As we feel the love_

Pokémon were being recalled left and right as they were overpowered by Leon's, and the frustrated agents couldn't do a thing. They could not attack Leon's Pokémon themselves because if they did, they would receive a harsh mental shock to the brain. Aura Guardians and Psychics could never harm a Pokémon directly because of this.

_How long will it take_

_To find our way out? _

_But she never lost her way_

_And made herself to home_

Leon himself was as powerful as his Pokémon, fighting with a wild spirit. His lance was not only a weapon, it was a channel to his power, and it did the job far better than Leon's spear ever could. Any agent, both Aura Guardian and Psychic, could not withstand the sheer power of that weapon. Even telekinetics working together could not keep him back. In fact, not only could the attacking agents not touch Leon as he fought against the body control due to him somehow being able to blow them away without losing focus on the telekinesis, but the Psychics themselves suffered all the more for their troubles; his attacks were that much more severe after Leon exerted and maintained enough force to break through the control. An Aura Guardian cried out loud as he was cut down by the Malachite Punisher.

_So we hold each other's hands_

_As we walk along the way _

_No more fears and tears to fall_

_We find a way home_

But however powerful Leon and his Pokémon were, they still had limits. Leon, fighting alongside his Pokémon, gritted his teeth as Shiftry and Aerodactyl grew more exhausted, and in the midst of blasting away a wave of agents with a thrust of his lance, returned the two Pokémon to their Poke Balls in the second he had before they were swarmed again. He could hear the song more clearly now, and he and his remaining Pokémon fought even harder despite their wearing down.

Meanwhile, Ash, Anabel, and Victor were nearing Alamos Town. The song's furthest traces began to reach them, although the words were not understandable due to the muffling distance created. Ash and Victor spurred Charizard and Altaria on, getting faster.

_We are free_

_Like water flows_

_We are one _

_As we feel the love_

Leon was getting tired, and Drapion and Poliwrath were returned to their Poke Balls due to weariness as well. Infernape and Luxray, the only two left, stood beside their master as they faced another oncoming horde. But all of them were nearing the end of their ropes.

_How long will it take_

_To find a way out?_

A chance! The agents saw it, and they rushed past Leon, Infernape, and Luxray, ignoring the number of humans and Pokémon that fell as they passed the powerful fighters. A good number stayed behind to finish them off, and the punisher and his Pokémon were forced to fend off these opponents. But he still looked in dismay through his throng of opponents as the other agents neared the barrier.

_But she never lost her way_

_And made herself to home_

Leon roared in anger and pain as Luxray fell, and he was stabbed in the arm by a yellow energy sword. It was not as painful as it would have been with a red or blue sword, but it still hurt like hell. He impaled his attacker before discharging a burst of Aura and stabbing any agent that flew past him. Infernape, Blaze in full effect, used Flare Blitz to easily overwhelm its opponents. Then, after returning Luxray, Leon and Infernape rushed towards the town, desperate to keep the agents from getting in. But it was too late. The barrier had been breached.

_So we hold each other's hands _

_As we walk along the way_

Then…a bellowing roar from above signaled Ash's arrival, and Leon laughed in relief as he saw Ash, Victor, and their Pokémon engage the invaders trying to get in. Ash yelled at Charizard to bring Anabel into the city, and Victor and his Pokémon followed on foot, going after the ones that had already entered.

_No more fears and tears to fall_

_We find a way home_

_How long will it take _

_To find a way out?_

_But she never lost her way_

_And made herself to home_

As Charizard flew over with Anabel on her back, the telepath saw Victor come up beside her on Altaria. The Crimson Artist had an unusual serious look on his face as he saw that several agents had taken flight on their flying Pokémon, heading to the top of the Space Time Towers.

Victor returned his other Pokémon and asked Altaria to go faster. As Altaria sped up, so did Charizard, and the two Pokémon easily overtook the invaders and touched down in the hallway leading to the main music room. Anabel released all her Pokémon and commanded them to use Psychic, connecting their minds to hers.

_Hold each other's hands_

_As we walk along the way_

As soon as the invaders their faces, Anabel responded with a vicious mental attack, boosted with the powers of her Pokémon. She had quickly adapted this technique from Ash, who had explained it to her, and soon discovered that with it, she could easily crush even Ash and Victor's mental barriers, not only causing them to get extreme headaches, but even allowing her to control them.

As the assailants screamed in agony, clutching their heads as their barriers were breached, Victor took them all down with his chains, forcing the small blades into the bodies of the attackers and dragging them out, releasing blood fountains left and right.

_No more fears and tears to fall_

_We find our way home_

As Anabel and Victor ran towards the music room, and as Ash and Leon finished off the last opponent, the song began to end, much to the sadness of the blissfully oblivious general populace that had been listening.

_You listen to my voice_

_Listen to my heart_

_Now I sing it clearly_

Ash helped the weary Leon onto the returned Charizard and the dragon took flight, while Victor and Anabel finally reached the music room. Sarah and Anabel embraced each other, both of them happy to see their best friend. Victor looked at Marisa and lifted his chin in greeting. Marisa waved in acknowledgement, but she had to finish the song.

_You listen to your voice_

_Listen to your heart_

_Do you even smile?_

**Okay, it's official. I am definitely much more motivated when writing romance and battle scenes. This song chapter thing is actually new to me. Still, we all agree that the thing that makes a good fight scene is good music, and I once saw an anime with this song sung in the background during battle. The scene was terrific, and the anime is called **_**Casshern Sins**_**, and in case you haven't noticed, I love it. In fact, some more ideas from the anime will be included in this story. **

**In any case, the word count for this chapter was definitely average, but the length itself was a bit longer than average. Still, I think this was one of my best chapters yet. Oh, and as for _Casshern Sins_, I actually wouldn't recommend it unless you like getting depressed. Like many of the anime series that I watch, _Casshern Sins_ is either adored or hated by those who have watched it. No in-between.  
**


	16. Stories Of The Past

**Things are about to get much more difficult…**

Despite the fact that he went to bed at midnight, Ash awoke early the next morning, and as he couldn't sleep, thought about the aftermath of the night before.

After Marisa's performance, she, Victor, Sarah, and Anabel had gone to meet Ash and Leon at a designated hotel. Sarah's eyes had widened at Leon's rather worn-down appearance, and Marisa quickly ordered Ash to help Leon into a suite that she had reserved. The songstress had also dismissed her bodyguards back to Aura Psychicorum's HQ to act as spies. Although the two Tier 1 members protested, they knew that compared to Ash, Leon, and Victor, they would only get in the way with their abilities, so they left reluctantly.

With the others watching, Marisa tended to Leon's wounds. The way her healing worked was that the yellow Aura particles that flowed from her mouth awakened Leon's own energies and sped up the body's healing process. However, Leon opted to leave the wound on his upper arm only partially healed. The muscles that had been torn through by the sword had been healed, but Leon only covered the bleeding by washing the wound and wrapping a layer of gauze around it. Ash shook his head at his friend's reason: "It's going to leave an awesome scar."

As for the injured Pokémon, Marisa's Blissey's eggs and Miltank's Moomoo Milk did wonders for the recovery of the more seriously wounded, and a bath of water laced with Full Restore ensured that there were no more wounds to speak of.

As Ash looked down at the completely refreshed Raichu still sleeping on his bed, he smiled. "Marisa is a magnificent healer," he whispered to nothing in particular, stroking Raichu's head.

He couldn't sleep anymore, so he decided to head to the kitchen for some tea or coffee after performing the normal morning hygienic practices. As he stepped out of his room, he was suddenly surprised by a presence behind him and whirled around, a hand already charged with blue energy, but it soon faded as a calming mental presence settled around his mind. It was Anabel.

"You really are paranoid," Anabel chided.

Ash smirked. "It comes from training days. Being an agent doesn't just require power, but skill and intelligence as well. Power is useless without those two. What I just did was reflex, nothing personal," he explained.

Anabel sighed. "Even if you do fully return to society, there's no way you can become a normal person again, not with that mentality. Still, I guess that's a good thing," she said.

Ash gave a small laugh. "I think you're right. But that aside, why are you up so early? I can understand agents like myself, but even so…" he wondered.

Anabel shook her head, amused. "Being a Frontier Brain isn't all easy, either. It's not just about battles. There's paperwork, recruits for maintenance, not to mention Scott calls us together at the most ridiculous times," she said, counting off the points on her fingers.

"Fair enough," Ash agreed as they entered the kitchen. "Coffee? Tea?"

"Jasmine tea would be great, thank you," Anabel said, sitting down on the couch as Ash began to brew the tea. He prepared a moderate amount of it; all of the people in the suite loved herbal tea, and jasmine was high on all their lists.

"How are you doing, Anabel?" Ash asked after a minute or so of silence.

"Fine," Anabel replied.

"Are you sure?" Ash retorted.

"Is there any reason why I shouldn't be?" Anabel feigned ignorance. It didn't fool Ash for a second, and he looked at her pointedly. Anabel sighed. "I'm actually really afraid. I know that you'll be there for me, and my Pokémon are here too, but when I think of that terrifying power that Vigo, Ian and Averill all had…" She looked down. "I guess that sounds ridiculous."

Ash brought over a tray of teacups and a kettle, handing a cup to Anabel, who accepted it with a word of thanks. He then put a bit of sugar into his before trying it. "Ah, delicious. Anyway, there's no shame in being afraid of them. All of us are, even though we'll probably never admit it. It took at least two of us just to take down Vigo or Averill, and Ian was more than capable of killing me. The Seven Sins are probably even more powerful." He laughed humorlessly. "Only a fool wouldn't be afraid of them."

Anabel sighed. "I wish I could be as strong as you, Ash," she said.

Ash shook his head. "You are. Who could possibly smile like you do in your situation? You have the strength to put on a smile even after nearly getting raped, even though there are fanatical bastards after you. Do you know how difficult it is for me to really smile the way you do?" He suddenly took Anabel's hand, and his gaze became more intense. "Anabel, you might think you're not as strong as I am, but there's more than one type of strength. Remember that. And if you ever need a shoulder to lean on…" He gestured at his own shoulder and smiled wryly at her. "You know I'm always here."

Anabel giggled and then leaned on the offered shoulder, closing her eyes and sighing. "I know." Ash had to fight down the growing blush…Anabel smelled heavenly, and he had hardly been in such close proximity with a girl. He could feel his heart beating through his chest and sighed. What was happening to him? Ash felt Anabel snuggle closer, and he had to keep himself from putting an arm around her.

Oh, well. Ash didn't know how he felt about Anabel at the moment, but there was no doubt. He would go life and limb for her. It was more than a mere job now. She trusted him, and he'd be damned if he let any of them hurt her without a fight. If anyone from the enemy even laid a hand on her—if any of them dared to—he would make them wish they'd never been born. Such thoughts were running through his head as he took another sip of tea.

There were a few minutes of peace before Raichu walked in, soon followed by Leon, and then Marisa, Victor, and Sarah. Ash then realized that in order to feed all of their Pokémon and themselves effectively and quickly, they would need a lot more room than what the suite combined. During the rare times that they moved as a whole, Tier 5 always ate outside, which meant that there was always room for a large spread for all the Pokémon and humans. Such were the benefits of freelancing.

Ash roused Anabel as the others looked at them knowingly. "Good morning, everyone. I made some jasmine tea. Want some?" he asked, feigning ignorance.

"Did we interrupt your moment?" Victor asked, grinning like the Cheshire Meowth.

"It's a yes or no question, Victor," Ash deadpanned. Still, everyone noticed the glance that passed between Ash and Anabel, and decided to ignore it in favor of tea. "Finish your tea, and then we'll head out for breakfast. Who wants to make it?"

"I'll do it. I owe you for the save yesterday," Leon said.

"I'll help you out," Sarah offered, and Leon nodded in appreciation.

"And I'll handle the Pokémon food," Victor added, taking another sip of his coffee. "Damn, I love espresso." Everyone nodded in agreement.

_Later…_

The party had moved to the outdoor garden behind the hotel, sitting down on tables. Since it was still rather early in the morning, there was hardly a soul about. As Leon prepared bacon and eggs on a frying pan while Sarah flipped pancakes on another frying pan, and as Victor heated up Pokémon food for the Pokémon, all on three portable stoves, Ash and Raichu sat with Marisa and Anabel, all of them anticipating the meal that was being prepared.

After a few minutes, the food was prepared, and Leon and Sarah called them over for food while Victor began to scoop Pokémon food into bowls, with Marisa helping him. Before long, all of them were sitting down again, looking hungrily at the feast. "Time for breakfast," Ash said, releasing Sceptile, Feraligatr, Gallade, Charizard, and Glalie. Anabel released Alakazam, Gardevoir, Espeon, Froslass, and Metagross. Leon released Infernape, Luxray, Drapion, Shiftry, Poliwrath, and Aerodactyl. Sarah did the same with Lopunny, Ninetales, Flygon, Roserade, Floatzel, and Togekiss. Victor called out Smeargle, Kecleon, Weavile, Rapidash, Altaria, and Gyarados. Finally, Marisa revealed her full team: Blissey, Miltank, Chimecho, Milotic, Meganium, and Absol.

As they all partook in breakfast, Ash suddenly spoke out. "If there's anything I've missed since leaving Aura Psychicorum, it's this," he murmured.

"What?" Sarah asked.

"This easy camaraderie," Ash replied.

Leon smirked. "I second that. All of us do, I think," he agreed. Marisa and Victor smiled.

Sarah looked confused. "I thought that Aura Psychicorum forbade emotions. Using that logic, how did this," she gestured around the table, "happen?"

"Do you want to hear the full story or just the abridged version?" Ash asked.

"How about a mix?" Anabel replied.

"All right. It started after Leon and I stalemated in the fight to go freelance. Iestyn actually wasn't comfortable with the two of us going out like that, so he assigned us to Tier 5. It was a small group of selected field agents, each easily capable of working alone, but more powerful when working together. Ian was the reaper. I was the demon. Victor was the artist, and Leon the punisher." Ash explained.

"There were actually supposed to be four agents for Tier 5: Ian Araxes, Ashvier Nova Ketchum, Victorien Gardaitos, and myself, Leontus Firesect. Then one day, I was sent on a mission, to find two people and question them for their alleged betrayal. It didn't exactly go the way I wanted it to. Long story short, I brought their daughter, Marisa Ramloss, back to the organization. Only when I brought her back did the count change to five," Leon said.

Victor chuckled. "I still remember when Marisa first showed up. A naïve little girl who did not know what Leon had brought her into. I was the one who protested most adamantly when he proposed to have her put into our group. The world we lived in just wasn't safe for someone like her," he said.

Marisa laughed. "And that was when Leon offered you the chance to look after me yourself. As a Siren, my attacks are naturally badly concentrated, and you helped me learn how to fix that. That was the start of the friendship between you and I," she said.

"Some of us never saw eye to eye with each other, until we learned about how we could work together in battle. Most of us did go on missions alone, but when we worked together, we never failed a single mission. We backed each other up, covered each other's weaknesses. Leon, Ian, and I took on the stronger opponents, and Victor and Marisa covered widespread attacks. Even our Pokémon helped each other. I remember when Smeargle and Raichu worked together in a Double Battle. It ended in our easy victory," Ash explained.

"So it's a friendship built on respect?" Anabel asked.

"Loyalty, really. There is hardly any friendship that creates tighter bonds than the ones formed between comrades-in-arms. All soldiers feel this way. If something happens to their friends, they come running. It was like that for us. Before long, we melted into this friendship that you see today, even if Ian is gone," Marisa explained.

"Wow. That's quite a story," Anabel said. By now, everyone, including the Pokémon, were finished with breakfast, and quickly disposed of their waste before returning their Pokémon to their Poke Balls. Raichu returned to Ash's shoulder.

"Now, then, let's get down to business. I'm sure you're wondering why I wanted for us to meet here. You are already aware of the fact that Anabel is being pursued. With this recent attack, we can assume that Aura Psychicorum has already put us on the target list as well. But we don't know why they want to bring Tenebris into our world. But then I got to thinking…" Ash got up to begin walking, and the others began to follow. "What if this Tenebris thing is all just a fluke, and not their real goal?"

"What are you saying? It doesn't make sense. Why would they lie about such a thing? Using a goddess of darkness to take over the world isn't exactly the best of motives," Leon said.

"Precisely, but then I remembered something else. Telepaths have been used for a lot of things in the past. One of the most common is to break seals containing live entities. The telepath would be forced to use a mental boost of sorts, simply encouraging the sealed entity to try harder to break out of its seal. That extra encouragement causes more motivation, and the seal is less effective," Ash explained.

They had by now reached the Space-Time Towers, and Ash led them inside into a giant library. "Are you implying that they're targeting me to break a seal of some kind? What makes you think that it's not the seal of Tenebris, assuming she does exist?" Anabel asked.

"I'm not certain of it, but there's a goal that I think is more likely. An old story that's been passed down and spread throughout Aura Psychicorum. It's been rather twisted to fit the tones of legend, but the original story should be…here," Ash said, searching for and finding a thick volume, untitled except for the picture of two humans with their palms held together and a certain energy emanating between them. One was a tall young man with brown hair styled similar to Ash's, only curlier in some places, and he wore a white metal padded outfit with red and blue designs. The other was a woman with hair the color of cherry blossoms, white and purple travel garb, and a silver pad on each forearm.

"The story of Casshern and Lyuze, the first Aura Guardian and Psychic respectively," Leon realized.

"Every agent knows this story well. A long time ago, perhaps only a little bit after humans first came about, there was a man named Casshern. He was a hired mercenary, one that was nearly unstoppable because of his powers with Aura. He was the first and only Aura Guardian with white Aura ever, and a proficient of the Aura Twin Swords, like me. Lyuze was the lady-in-waiting of the queen at the time, Luna. She was a telepath, like Anabel," Ash said.

"One day, Casshern was hired to kill the queen and learn the way around the castle. He planned to masquerade as an ordinary knight for a few days and then perform the deed. But things didn't go the way he expected. He met Lyuze along with the queen. One thing led to another, and they were soon deeply enamored with each other. Casshern could not tell Lyuze why he was really there in the first place, but even so, they were happy together. Casshern never really tried to kill Luna," Victor said.

"Days turned into months. Months turned into years. Finally, the man who hired Casshern had enough of waiting and decided to outright invade the castle. Casshern and Lyuze worked together to drive the enemies back. As Lyuze controlled the minds of the invaders on a massive scale, Casshern cut them down, moving like a whirlwind in a group of Slowpoke. They were unstoppable. No one could get past them, and eventually, the invasion was turned back. But the queen and the other people, frightened of what they had done, arrested them. Casshern and Lyuze had never before displayed such power, and it meant that it was a threat to the queen. Casshern and Lyuze were to be executed, until Casshern broke them out. No cage could hold him," Marisa continued.

"They began to live a life constantly on the run, but even so, they were happy. They were finally free to be together. Casshern even told Lyuze that he was sent to kill the queen. Lyuze was horrified at first, but Casshern assuaged her by promising to protect her at all costs," Leon said.

"All in all, they were happy together until they were finally caught up to by Luna's guards, including her captain, Dune, the only one who could possibly match Casshern's prowess. Lyuze's telepathy kept everyone under control except Dune, and he and Casshern dueled. After a long fight, Casshern bested Dune, but collapsed, dying from his wounds. Seeing this broke Lyuze's concentration, and as she cried out for Casshern, she was forced to fight herself. She was actually a capable fighter, besting a lot of the guards by herself. But she wasn't good enough to survive them all, and was finally cut down. She begged to be buried along with Casshern, and the few surprised remaining guards complied," Marisa explained, a tone of sadness in her voice.

Victor took over, a surprisingly cheerful smile on his face. "But the story doesn't end there. Arceus took pity on them. At that time, Arceus had looked down on humans, but seeing Casshern and Lyuze's powers, as well as their struggles, thought that simply letting them die would be a waste. So he brought their souls back and placed them into two new Pokémon. Casshern and Lyuze…became the first Darkrai and Cresselia." He chuckled. "Fitting, really. Casshern, the ever-foreboding figure as the bringer of nightmares. And Lyuze, the calming, gentle soul as the bringer of dreams."

"It's an amazing story, but what does it have to do with why that cult wants Anabel?" Sarah asked.

"The new Darkrai and Cresselia both had powers beyond Arceus ever expected. Since they were both humans, they could produce humans as well as offspring of their Pokémon species if they mated. The human offspring hatched out from eggs like Pokémon, but their human descendants after that were all born normally, and all of them had the pure blood of an Aura Guardian or a Psychic. When those purebloods mated with normal humans, their offspring would have power, but the bloodline was diluted. This repeated process meant that Aura Guardians and Psychics were rarer every generation, but there were still more than enough to cause widespread destruction," Leon explained.

"And that was what happened a few years before the founding of Aura Psychicorum. A war erupted between the Aura Guardians and Psychics. The hero Sir Aaron, an Aura Guardian, managed to stop it, but there were still enormous casualties for both humans and Pokémon. Even then, Aura Guardians and Psychics never really got along ever again. Arceus blamed the first Darkrai and Cresselia for this, even though this happened long after the first generation of descendants walked the earth. It sealed them in a secret place against their will, in the heart of the Tree of Beginning, where Sir Aaron stopped the war. Telepaths have tried and failed to break them out, but maybe the ones who are after you think that you can do it, Anabel. I don't know how truly powerful you can be, but it's true that you've been progressing way faster than I expected," Ash finished.

"So you're saying that our pursuers might want to use me to release Casshern and Lyuze?" Anabel asked. Ash nodded. "But to what end? This brings us back to the same problem with Tenebris."

"Not exactly. If what I'm saying is true, then we know what they want, and how and where they plan to get it. We just need to know when and why. Luckily, the when might be covered here in Alamos Town as well. Another reason why I chose to meet here is because this town has a special resident. Follow me," Ash said, turning to leave without waiting for an answer. Though some of them looked rather annoyed, Anabel followed Ash after some hesitation. With her going, the others had no real choice. They were there to protect her, after all.

_Later…_

Ash had taken the party to an entrance that led to a beautiful garden. As they stepped through the passageway, Ash murmured, "Watch the Wormadam." His warning could not have come sooner, as several Wormadam and Burmy in their Grass Cloaks suddenly dropped down. The party members were all slightly surprised, but quickly regained their composure as they emerged from the arch.

"What are we looking for, exactly?" Sarah asked.

"I'll call him," Ash decided. He lifted his hands to his mouth and began to shout. "Darkrai! Where are you?!" Raichu helped out with its own piercing call. Still, there was no answer, and Ash led the party a little deeper into the garden before calling again. "Darkrai! I know you're here! Don't be afraid! It's me, Ash!" This comment made the others look at him in surprise. He actually knew a Darkrai enough so that it would know his name?

That unspoken question was answered as a chill suddenly went down their backs. The shadows in the woods nearby began to coalesce into an eerie undulating shape. Before, a Pokémon with white hair, a single blue eye, a red spiky protrusion on its neck, and a black body floated out.

"_Why are you here?" _Darkrai asked.

Anabel's eyes widened. "Telepathy," she whispered.

"I have a question for you. Are there any Cresselia nearby that you meet every now and then? If so, when?" Ash asked, without a trace of fear.

Darkrai rumbled in its throat before answering. _"Cresselia…are creatures of nuisance to us Darkrai. Always stopping what I cause. Even so, we meet to discuss…certain topics. There is a Cresselia for every Darkrai, and the meeting time is always…on the night of a total lunar eclipse, when a red moon appears."_

"I see. Thank you for your time," Ash said. As Darkrai melted back into the shadows, Ash grunted. "Why does everything always happen during a red moon?"

"What was the point of that?" Leon asked.

"To confirm a suspicion that I had," Ash answered.

"Did you have to bring all of us?" Marisa complained.

"Saves me the trouble of having to explain it later. Anyway, it looks like I was right." Ash began to head out of the garden with the others following. "The guys who are after Anabel have to make her open the seal during the night of a total lunar eclipse. Darkrai and Cresselia must be drawn towards each other during those time periods, because otherwise they would never meet under friendly pretenses."

"Wait…I think I get what you're saying," Leon said. The others looked at him. "Casshern and Lyuze were sealed away during the night of a red moon, right? Therefore, it might follow that during another night of the red moon, the seal is at least weaker than it usually is, maybe because Casshern and Lyuze are more closely bound than before, which makes them more powerful. In other words, if you're right, then the night of a red moon is when they can break out more easily, which means that they can also broken out more easily."

"Exactly. I remember such a night about two years ago, when some of the top brass suddenly left with no explanation, taking the best telepaths we knew with them. When they came back, none of them would offer any explanation as to what they were doing. The stories do match up, but it's all speculation, really. For all we know, they could have been at the Tree of Beginning or just at some rundown shack taking out criminals. But if I'm right, they have until the next total lunar eclipse to catch Anabel. After that, they'll have to wait at least another year. And if these people are serious, then they can't wait that long," Ash said.

"The next red moon is during the winter solstice, almost a year from now. They have a lot of time, but not so much that they can go easy," Marisa said.

"Exactly. So here's the plan. They want to attack us because we're in the way. Well, I think that we should just keep it like that," Ash said.

"What do you mean?" Anabel asked.

"We're splitting up and using divide and conquer. All of us are a threat in some way to the entire plot. Leon showed me the bounties on our heads and they're all roughly equivalent, which means that we are all equally threatening. So, we split up. As the Seven Sins attack us, we do everything we can to take them down first. Between all of us, we might be able to take down the first five," Ash proposed.

"There are so many things wrong with that plan," Marisa deadpanned.

"I know it's risky, but it's the quickest way. We can use our communicators to report status and call for help. We'll split up into teams of two, and track down the Seven Sins," Ash defended.

"Are you mad? I thought our goal was not to be found," Victor said.

"The quickest way to find your opponent is to let him find you," Ash replied.

"You got me there. Still, it's very drastic, even for you. Do you want answers that badly that you'll go after Aura Psychicorum's greatest agents? Anabel and Sarah aren't fully trained yet, Ash! How in the world do you expect us to finish that if we're being forced to extreme paranoia?" Leon questioned.

"By using this experience as a learning buffer," Ash replied, looking at Anabel and Sarah for a bit before appealing to the others again. "Look, I know better than anyone how dangerous this plan is. But even so, I trust all of you, and all of you are capable of keeping yourselves alive at all costs. And you have your Pokémon, too. I know how crazy this plan is, and none of you probably think more so than Anabel and Sarah." He looked at the two Psychics again. "If you two choose not to go through with this, then we won't. Ultimately, it's your decision."

Anabel thought about it for a second. "I say we go for it," she declared. Everyone's mouths fell open, except for Sarah, who nodded in agreement.

"Are you sure?" Marisa asked.

"Just as Ash trusts you, then so do I. And I trust him as well. If he thinks that this is the best course of action, then I'm with him. I might not know a lot about your world, but I do know one thing." Anabel's face was stern. "There are people out for our heads. I think it's better for us to strike first, and I can't think of any better way. Besides…" Anabel suddenly launched a mental attack on all of the present Aura Guardians, and they all flinched as its power, while not enough to single-handedly shatter their mental barriers, still did enough damage to the barriers to grab their owners' attention. "I don't know why, but I'm growing more powerful."

"As am I. I've been able to use more projectiles than I ever could before, and I've been training my aim as well." Sarah proved her point by mentally lifting a small stone and shooting it into a nearby tree. The stone went clean through the bark, leaving a small hole behind.

"With more training, we will be powerful enough to help you, because we're tired of feeling helpless. And even when we do finish training, we'll still help you because you're our friends," Anabel said. This created a reaction of slight surprise that showed on all of the Tier 5 members' faces. Anabel smiled. "We owe you besides, and we'll be damned if we're going to back out of it now."

Leon, Victor, and Marisa all still looked a little dubious, but they all finally nodded. "Very well," Leon said.

Ash smiled. "Good. Here are the teams. Anabel and I will go to Kanto and Johto and try to find some of the Seven Sins there. Leon, you and Sarah cover Sinnoh and the Orange Islands. Victor, you and Marisa cover Hoenn. Clear?" Everyone nodded. "Good. Now, let's…"

"Hey, I think I see him! We did it! We found Ash!"

"You were right, Dawn! He is here!"

"Oh, good, you guys didn't leave yet! I thought we lost you again when we couldn't find you at your hotel!"

Ash instantly froze mid-sentence and he got noticeably paler as the voices spoke out behind him. The others were looking on with wide eyes as Ash turned around.

"Oh, dear…it looks like things just got a lot more complicated…" Victor drawled.

**Guess who the newcomers are. It shouldn't be that difficult.**

**I really don't like explanation** **chapters because they are quite annoying to write, but they are necessary. I think I made up for it with a cliffhanger, however weak it was. **

**In any case, please leave a comment. The last chapter had none for some reason, even though the view count was higher than expected. Remember, comments keep me motivated. **


	17. Old Friends, Part 2

**The happy reunion's fate is to turn sour. Shall we begin?**

Ash was now facing the one thing that haunted him and kept him up at night ever since he joined Aura Psychicorum: the fated reunion with his old traveling companions and rivals. He had already known what to expect when he met May and Max back at Fortree City, but he had never really considered meeting all of them at the same time, and the effect on his old friends would likely be many times greater than that of the one in Fortree City. And he doubted that he could run away again.

They were all here. Misty, Brock, May, Max, Barry, Dawn, Gary, Ritchie, Tracey, and Morrison, and although all of them looked different in some way or another, Ash recognized them all. Behind him, the others were staring at the standoff with a mix of surprise, expectancy, and slight amusement on their faces. "Ash?" Anabel asked when he didn't say anything.

"I can't deal with this now, Anabel…" Ash sighed, holding a hand to his head. Anabel sympathetically put a hand on his arm and placed a calming mental sensation into Ash's mind. Raichu looked at his partner sadly.

"Shall I drive them off, then?" Victor asked, leering at Ash's old friends.

Leon shook his head. "Hold on. He has to learn how to interact with them again. Still…looking at him right now…" The lancer looked at his friend, who, despite the sensation that Anabel had placed onto his mind, still looked rather shell-shocked. "I agree that it might not be a good time."

"Wait. What's going on? What's wrong with Ash?" Misty asked.

She was ignored as Marisa took charge. "Anabel, I think you should bring Ash back to the hotel. When Ash is ready to really talk to them, then have him call us. We'll be there as soon as we deal with this rabble," she said.

"Why me?" Anabel asked.

"Because I think you're the only one who can talk to him the right way," Marisa said, fixing Anabel in a strong gaze that was full of meaning. Anabel quickly understood and pulled on Ash's arm, leading him out of the square. However powerful he was, he still walked along, following the telepath without question.

"Where's he going? Where are you taking him?" Max demanded.

"That is nothing to concern yourself with," Leon growled. He and Victor purposefully stepped forward, their amusement replaced by cold glares.

"Let us talk to him!" May cried.

"That is not allowed. Please enter another response," Victor joked with a smile that did not quite reach his eyes.

"Enough, both of you!" Sarah ordered, stepping forward. Unlike her two friends, he looked at Ash's old friends with a kind smile. "Ash isn't himself right now. What you saw just now was not surprising given what he's been through. But you, on the other hand, have no idea of what he has become."

"And what happened to him? What did he become?" Brock asked.

"Just get out of our way, or else…" Barry took out a Poke Ball, intending to force them out of the way.

"There's no need to use force…" Marisa started, but Leon stopped her.

"Hold on. I'm actually interested to see how good Ash's old friends are in a Pokémon battle." Leon said. To himself, he muttered, "Maybe then we'll see why he left them."

Victor nodded. "I agree. How about this? If the strongest two of you can defeat Leon and I in a Pokémon battle, one Pokémon each, we will let you pass. Of course, if Ash calls us and tells us that he wants to see you, we will take you to the hotel where he's staying. Deal?" he offered.

"You know it just sounded like you kidnapped him, right?" Sarah deadpanned. Leon and Victor shrugged.

"Deal." Ritchie said, stepping forward. His Pikachu, Sparky, grinned at the prospect of battle. Morrison and Barry both stepped forward and then began to argue about who would battle.

"I'm stronger than you in all tournaments! I always get in the Top 8 or above!" Morrison bragged.

"Yeah, so what! I learned from the Tower Tycoon, my dad! Let me battle or I'll fine you!" Barry argued.

"There's no need to fight…we'll battle all three of you," Victor challenged.

"Two on three? That's irregular!" Tracey said.

"Not a problem," Leon dismissed before turning back to Marisa and Sarah. "Do either of you want to help us or do one of us have to send out two Pokémon?"

"You go, Sarah. I'm interested to see the skills of the only person who can control Leon," Marisa said with a smirk.

Sarah blushed slightly, but nodded and took her place on the other side of Leon, who smiled. "Glad to have you by my side again." She smiled back at him.

"If the flirting is done…" Victor's comment made both Leon and Sarah blush. "It's settled: three on three, here and now. Let's do this." All six participants took out Poke Balls.

"Infernape, show them your power!"

"Lopunny, let's do this!"

"Smeargle, display your skill!"

"Empoleon!"

"Come on, Sparky!"

"We got this, Metagross!"

As the six Pokémon appeared, Leon looked at their opponents appraisingly. "Hmmm…yeah, this will definitely be interesting…" He gestured at Morrison, Barry, and Ritchie. "Take the first move."

"Empoleon, let's start strong! Drill Peck on Infernape!" Empoleon flew towards Infernape, spinning on an axis beak-first at incredible speeds.

"Infernape, wait until the last moment, and then dodge and take it down with Close Combat." Infernape seemed to disappear right before Empoleon made contact. The giant penguin stopped the attack and looked around in confusion.

"Empoleon, above you!" Empoleon looked up just in time to see Infernape being both of its fists down onto its head. The giant penguin stumbled backwards, but Infernape didn't let up, landing on its feet before rushing forward to attack Empoleon with a series of rapid kicks and punches, the last of which was a pounding right hook that sent Empoleon reeling back to where it started, albeit quite the worse for wear.

"Sparky, Thunderbolt on Infernape!" Sparky charged up a bolt of electricity before firing it at Infernape. Infernape dodged the attack easily, moving its head so that it just flew by it, while Smeargle stepped forward.

"Smeargle, Metronome!" Smeargle wagged its tail before pointing it forward to fire a huge amount of glowing seeds. "Ah, Bullet Seed. How lucky!" Victor exclaimed as the seeds struck Sparky.

"Metagross, Hammer Arm on Lopunny!" Metagross rushed forward and loomed over Lopunny, prepared to strike it with a super-effective move.

"Lopunny, counterattack with Jump Kick!" Lopunny leapt out of the way as Metagross's Hammer Arm shattered the ground. The rabbit then used the ground as momentum to leap forward and land a double kick to Metagross's body. Despite its sturdiness, Metagross was thrown backwards.

"H-how? Who are you guys?" Barry stammered.

"They're all…so strong!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Come on, guys! We all want to talk to Ash!" Max cheered.

"I'm afraid that's become improbable." Ash's old friends looked at Leon. "The three of you all have a considerable level of skill. However, it is not enough to beat any of us. Still, I think your level calls for us getting a little more serious." He looked at Victor and Sarah. "Shall we?"

"I'll make the first move. Smeargle, Acupressure on Lopunny!" Smeargle moved behind Lopunny and struck several pressure points with a sharpened tail. Lopunny arched her back in ecstasy as Acupressure increased its power.

"Sarah, I'm going to try something, so just play along," Leon said. Sarah nodded. "Infernape, throw Lopunny at them with all your strength! Aim for the one you think is the strongest!" Lopunny cried out in surprise as Infernape lifted it up.

Sarah quickly understood. "Lopunny, as Infernape throws you, use Quick Attack into Dizzy Punch!" As Infernape hurled Lopunny forward, Lopunny increased its speed with Quick Attack, a trail of white energy flowing behind it. Its ears then glowed as it flew towards Empoleon, Infernape's intended target. With a cry, Lopunny thrust its ears forward as it neared the penguin. Empoleon could not react; Lopunny was too fast, and the impact sent the penguin flying into faint.

"Empoleon, no!" Barry cried.

"That's one," Leon said as Lopunny landed on its feet.

"Sparky, Iron Tail on Lopunny!" Sparky moved behind Lopunny, ready to drop a steel-hard tail onto its head. Lopunny quickly counterattacked with Dizzy Punch, one ear blocking the attack and the other knocking Sparky out. Ritchie looked on in shock. "No way…" Ritchie growled.

"Metagross, that Dizzy Punch is down! Use Meteor Mash!" Morrison commanded. Metagross loomed above Lopunny and knocked it away with a huge leg. Infernape quickly caught it, and the rabbit kissed the monkey on the cheek in gratitude.

"Oh, dear, the Pokémon are even worse than the masters!" Victor exclaimed jokingly and making Leon and Sarah spout pointless denials while Marisa giggled. "Now then, I'll finish this. Smeargle, Super Fang!" Smeargle held out its tail, and the tail's paintbrush turned into a set of steel fangs. The Painter Pokémon charged, the fangs snapping wildly.

"Aaaah, Metagross, counter with Psychic!" Metagross's eyes glowed electric blue, and the same blue energy enveloped Smeargle. The fangs disappeared as Smeargle began to float. "Nice job, Metagross!"

"It's too bad he was the decoy!" Leon called. Morrison looked at him, surprised as Leon called out for the finishing move. "Infernape, Flamethrower!"

Metagross couldn't react as Infernape fired a dense stream of flames from its mouth. The super-effective move cancelled Metagross's hold on Smeargle and sent it into the fainted state, following its companions.

"It's over," Leon declared, returning Infernape to his Poke Ball. Sarah and Victor did the same with their Pokémon.

Ash's old friends were shocked. It wasn't that Leon, Sarah, and Victor had won against them; with Leon's attitude and confidence, it might have even been expected. It was the _way _they won. Leon, Sarah, and Victor had almost completely dominated three of the people that used to be some of Ash's best rivals before he left.

"Who are you?" Tracey repeated Barry's question.

"In terms of Pokémon battling, we're all as strong as Ash is right now. All of us are Elite Four level or above. You guys are all way better than the average trainer, that's for sure. Even so, I'm afraid you've lost your chance," Leon said.

Just then, Leon's haunting ringtone played, and he answered the phone, revealing an image of Ash. "I'm ready to see them," Ash said.

Leon raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Very well. By the way, I think your old friends are quite weak compared to us," he said.

Ash sighed. "Give them some credit, it's not like they've been through what we've been through," he said. Then his face grew more resolute. "And there's no way in hell I'm going to let that happen anyway."

"That's the truth," Leon answered, cutting the connection and facing Ash's old friends. "Well, then, follow me."

"You're going to let us see him?" Gary asked.

"Why wouldn't I? I was going to do it anyway," Leon said with a shrug.

"Then what was the point of that? You almost killed their hopes!" Sarah scolded.

"I wanted to see how good they were under pressure. Turns out they're just fine," Leon said. Victor and Marisa rolled their eyes as Leon led the entire group to the hotel.

_Earlier…_

When Anabel took Ash back to the hotel suite, she quickly offered him some extra jasmine from that morning after heating it up. Although he accepted and did drink it, she could tell that he did it mechanically, with no feeling behind it, unlike how he did it in the morning.

Raichu met her eyes, and an understanding passed between them. _Please help Ash, Anabel,_ it said. She nodded, and sat down on Ash's chair's arm.

"You can't stay here forever, you know," Anabel said. Ash didn't answer. "What's wrong with you? Are you really so shocked that you can't answer me?"

"It's not that simple, Anabel. Do you really expect me to go up to them and say, "Hi, what's up, I'm sorry I haven't been in contact for four years?" I don't have a good reason for it. What can I possibly say to them?" Ash asked.

"What you just said is actually a good start. I don't get it, though. How is it that you can talk to me, almost a complete stranger, about your disappearance, and you can't even talk to your closest friends?" Anabel asked.

"How should I put this? When I saw you for the first time last week, and also when I met you during my Battle Frontier challenge, I got this feeling. I thought that I could talk to you about anything and you would understand somehow. The truth is, you're the only one who's keeping me fully anchored to this world," Ash explained. Anabel looked at him, her eyes wide.

"During my time as an agent, I lived for only my Pokémon and my job, nothing more, nothing less. My heart was cold as ice by the time I saved you from those rapists. But it was that single instant that the ice began to melt," Ash said. "I began to wonder…what would have happened if I had tried to read your heart and succeeded? With the power that I had then and now, I had and still have a chance."

"Then why didn't you try then? Why didn't you come back…to me?" Anabel asked, feeling like she was taking a huge risk with that last part.

Ash looked back at her rather forlornly. "Because I was trying to push those thoughts out of my mind. They would have brought up more regrets, and regrets are not what an agent of Aura Psychicorum should have." He shook his head. "I said try because it didn't. I found myself thinking about how I left you more and more, and that led to more and more regrets. Why did I leave in the first place? Am I happy with my life now as a cold-blooded mercenary? Did I lose my dreams? Such questions plagued my mind, and truthfully, I didn't know how to stop it. I used my freelance status to move around in an attempt to forget it, but traveling only served to return my memories of traveling with friends and how fun it was. By the time you met me, I was drowning myself in regret. The only reason for my battle with Cynthia was because I was re-battling every single Elite Four and Champion I could find in an attempt to release that regret. I was pathetic, and a complete fool."

"You are far from stupid, Ash," Anabel denied.

"You may think that, but I was avoiding the very answer. If I was regretting so much, then why didn't I try to come back? When I got the job to protect you, the answer to fixing my regret became so obvious, ridiculously so. I had to face the one that started it. I had to see how you were doing, like Raichu kept on suggesting. I should have listened to him," Ash said. Raichu rubbed its cheek onto Ash's and he patted its head.

"And now look. You might understand that I disappeared to get better at Pokémon battling, but will they? Will they accept that in becoming better, I've become colder as well?" Ash finished.

"I think that they will," Anabel said.

"And what makes you say that?" Ash asked.

"It's just a feeling. You may have become colder, but the vibe you give off is still there. Why have your Pokémon stuck by your side despite the atrocities that you have committed? Why do Leon, Marisa, and Victor follow you even though they are all every bit as capable of leading as you are? It's because of your aura. Not the energy, but the vibe. Your aura emits leadership and inspires confidence. Leon's is arrogance and steadfastness. Victor's is the representation of randomness. And Marisa radiates comfort. That's the impression I got from watching all of you. If you just be confident in your abilities and trust not only yourself, but them, I think that they'll understand perfectly," Anabel suggested.

"Confidence…is that truly a word that you should say to a practical demon?" Ash inquired.

"No. Not a demon, but a fallen angel. A fallen angel who chose to help a lost soul. You helped me when I was almost deflowered, and now it's my turn to save you from despair. It's the lost soul to the fallen angel," Anabel proposed.

"You are not lost anymore, Anabel," Ash said, taking her hand in his and squeezing it. "Just as you are my anchor, so too I will be yours, and I will never let you be lost again. I promise."

"I know you won't, Ash…" They embraced each other like two lovers, but they kept their emotions tightly bottled up from the other. Neither of them wanted to risk their bond becoming ruined. The only one who was aware of the full brunt of both their emotions was Raichu.

"I'll talk to them," Ash decided after pulling away. He took out the communication device and contacted Leon, who agreed to bring them back to the hotel. "How about we go down there and meet them?" Ash offered Anabel his arm.

Anabel accepted it. "Shall we?" she asked. Ash gave her a wry smile and escorted her all the way to the main entrance. There, they were greeted by the sight of an explosion of dust from the main square.

"That doesn't look good," Ash said.

"I'm not sensing anyone powerful and unfamiliar. It can't be any of the Seven Sins," Anabel said.

"Let's go," Ash said. They ran towards the square, and when they got there, saw a giant robot…with a giant red R on its center…confronting Ash's old friends, who all looked rather nervous. Leon, Marisa, Victor, and Sarah, on the other hand, all looked rather annoyed, and for very good reason.

"You have got to be kidding me…" Ash complained.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And you can make it double!"

"To protect the world the world from devastation!"

"To united all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

A magenta-haired woman appeared from the head of the robot. "Jessie!"

A blue-haired man appeared next to her. "James."

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!" Jessie finished her part.

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!" James did the same.

"Meowth! That's right!" A talking cat Pokémon finished the motto.

"It's Team Rocket!" Max cried.

"What do you want?" Tracey demanded.

"What do you think, twerps? We want your Pokémon! Especially those guys' Pokémon!" Jessie answered, pointing to Leon, Sarah, Victor, and Marisa.

Leon stepped forward. "And how in the world do a bunch of petty crooks like you plan to have them? Do you honestly believe that we will simply hand them over to you?" he asked.

"Considering the fact that if you don't, we'll attack the civilians, yes, we do!" James laughed. He pressed a button, and an array of chainsaws, blades, and hammers held in arms came out of various holes.

"You are no better than your cohorts Cassidy and Brick. That machine was a work of art until those ridiculous arms came out!" Victor declared. Everyone looked at him weirdly.

"Are you calling my genius ugly?!" Meowth snapped. A hammer flew towards a mother holding a little girl in her arms. The mother screamed and tried to run, but tripped, and the hammer was just moments away from impact…

…until Anabel released Metagross to stop it with Meteor Mash. Ash's old friends looked at Morrison, who shook his head. "It wasn't me!" he denied.

Ash and Anabel then decided to make their entrance. "The three of you are as annoying and as incompetent as ever." Ash sighed, walking into the square with Anabel at his side. Ash's old friends gasped in shock. "Hey, guys. I thought I might drop in." Despite the smile on his face, his eyes were un-amused and annoyed.

"Guys, why didn't you bother to, I don't know, try to beat them?" Anabel asked. This question was directed at the four fighters that were, at the moment, looking nonchalant, even Sarah.

"The reaction that Ash's old friends displayed was one that showed that these crooks have been harassing them numerous times in the past, and Victor knew that Ash had fought them before as well. Sensing your Aura, we knew that you were closing in quickly to this location," Leon said.

"It don't matter if dat super twerp's back, we've gotten stronger!" Meowth boasted.

Ash looked to his old friends for confirmation. "It's true! They've gone beyond even Bill and Cassidy!" Brock exclaimed.

"They're a lot more successful now, but they've never managed to steal one of our Pokémon!" Max added.

"Which will make it all the more humiliating when Ash shows his true power. That's why we didn't attack them before now. I want to see this…a showdown between two old enemies, both sides having become much more powerful since they met last. It would be a superb spectacle!" Victor laughed, holding his arms out like a prophet.

"Really? Well, then, I suppose I'll have to thank you later, after I have reminded them…what it feels like to be defeated…again…by me," Ash said. Raichu grinned. "Anabel, if you please?"

"Metagross, return!" Anabel said. She smiled at Ash and stepped back. "You're still the same in so many ways, you know."

"And I'm different in so many others," Ash replied, smiling back before facing Team Rocket's mecha. "Raichu, you look excited. Go." Raichu jumped off of Ash's shoulder and faced the robot.

"Dat's just Pikachu! Let's get it!" Meowth drawled. All of the arms, blades and all, flew forward at Raichu.

Raichu simply looked bored, and didn't move. "Ash, what are you doing! Raichu's gonna get…" May cried.

Ash interrupted her. "Now," he ordered.

With a burst of electricity, every single arm was shattered. The electricity then traveled through the metal into the mecha itself, overloading it completely. Within seconds, the shiny robot was nothing more than a blackened husk. "Was that really all you had? Please say no," Ash mocked towards the rubble.

Team Rocket burst out, and they all looked enraged. "How dare you!" Jessie snapped.

"If you're so pissed…then come at me," Ash challenged.

"Seviper, Poison Tail!" Jessie's snake burst out and flew towards Raichu, its tail glowing purple.

"Too slow." Raichu suddenly disappeared and reappeared above Seviper. "Iron Tail." Raichu struck down Seviper with a single lash of a steel-hard tail on the snake's head. Another lash sent the fainted Seviper back to Jessie. "Got anything better?"

"Carnivine, Solar Beam!" James released his Venus flytrap, and it quickly charged up the powerful blast, firing it a few seconds later.

"Cut right through," Ash muttered. Raichu jumped towards the blast and rolled in midair, Iron Tail in effect. The Iron Tail gave the lightning bolt on its tail a sharp edge, allowing Raichu to literally somersault right through the Solarbeam, literally cutting it in half. As for the resulting stray blasts, Ash quickly blocked any damage with a quickly constructed barrier.

Raichu landed right in front of Carnivine. "Thunderbolt," Ash ordered. Despite the type disadvantage, Carnivine was knocked out as well.

"N-no way…" James stammered.

"You guys are pathetic!" Meowth growled, before moving to attack Raichu with Fury Swipes. Raichu dodged them all with a bored look on its face.

"You're the one who's pathetic. Hand-to-hand, Raichu," Ash said. Raichu activated Iron Tail again after dodging the swipes. As Meowth swiped again, Raichu grabbed the arm and began to spin, taking Meowth with it. Meowth screamed as he was thrown around and around, almost like a Seismic Toss. After some spinning, Raichu hurled Meowth into Jessie and James, knocking the crooks down.

"You guys haven't improved a bit. You'll never be anything more than a bunch of losers. Raichu, finish them the old-fashioned way," Ash commanded. Raichu nodded and blasted Team Rocket with a Thunderbolt.

"This hasn't happened in so long!" Jessie cried as she and her team were shocked.

"Here's a warning…I have better things to do than deal with you. So stay out of my way, and never appear before me again," Ash said. "Say goodbye."

There was an explosion of dust, and Jessie, James, and Meowth flew out. "Team Rocket's blasting off agaaaaain!" they cried as they flew off.

"I really have to wonder how they do that," Ash commented as Raichu returned to his shoulder. "Okay, now that that's over, we're going now." He began to walk out the way he came in, but Anabel caught his arm and gestured pointedly at his now-shocked old friends while Leon, Sarah, Marisa, and Victor joined them.

Ash sighed. "Are you guys coming or not?" he asked.

"Oh, no, we're coming, we're coming," Brock said, regaining his senses first, and began to follow Ash and his group. One by one, they all did the same, but all of them were beginning to realize that even though Ash was back in their lives, he was worlds away from what he used to be.

**And that's over for now. My birthday just passed by, not mention Independence Day yesterday, so I had little time or motivation to work on this. With my summer job, things will only get more interesting. But I can assure you, **_**Guardian's**__**Rebirth **_**will not end for a long time. This is certain to be my longest work yet. After all, none of the Seven Sins have made their appearance yet, not to mention we have no idea who the enemy leader is.**

**Oh, and I must apologize to you for putting that annoying motto in this chapter. I hope that I made it up to you by putting in two curb-stomp battles, a moment between Ash and Anabel, and the old friends. Unfortunately, Paul is unlikely to appear. I don't think he'll add much to the plot. **

**In any case, please leave a comment below, and if you do, try to avoid saying "good chapter" or "great chapter". It's nice, but I want constructive criticism as well. And remember, reviews keep me motivated.  
**


	18. Unintended Awakening

**I had a bit of a conflict while planning this chapter, and truthfully, this chapter is mostly improvisation. Still, let's see how good I am with this. I don't think I'm that good with long-awaited reunions. **

**Even so, enjoy.**

"Does everyone have something to drink?" Ash asked. When he got no words of the negative answer, he smiled. "Good. Now, then…where should I begin?"

"Try to begin where you began with me," Anabel suggested.

"An excellent choice." Ash took a sip of his tea. "Ah, herbal tea. Love this stuff. Anyway, the first thing to say is that it might be better for all of us if you all left right now," he said. Anabel sighed in annoyance; he had completely gone the other way of her suggestion.

"Is that how you greet people after not seeing them for four years?" Misty asked.

"It's how I'm going to greet you guys at the moment. Right now, I'm involved in something that, if you stay here, will put all of you in invariable danger," Ash said.

"Why would anyone value danger?" Morrison asked.

"I didn't say invaluable, I said invariable. No matter what, all of you will be put in danger if you stay here much longer. In fact, the consequences go up to and include death," Ash elaborated.

Despite his rather dispassionate explanation, Ash's mention of death got everyone's attention. "D-death? What's going on? What did you get yourselves involved in?" May asked, her voice quavering a little.

"Her," Ash said, gesturing to Anabel. As the others stared at the telepath, Ash continued. "Right now, there are people out to get her, and I've made it my job to be her bodyguard. It's as simple as that."

"And what do her problems have to do with you? Why can't she hire a normal bodyguard?" Dawn asked.

"A normal bodyguard is nothing compared to those who are after her. Each one has enough power to destroy this town," Ash said.

"And why would they…?" Misty's question was cut off.

"Because they can do this…" Ash formed his Aura Sword and showed it to his shocked friends. "We are not dealing with ordinary criminals and mercenaries. We are dealing with Aura Guardians and Psychics. Many of them are honorable mercenaries, but there are some that will not scruple to end even innocent civilians if those civilians get in their way." He dissipated his sword before taking another sip of tea. "I know because both Leon and I were like that once."

"What do you mean?" Brock asked, although he and all of Ash's old friends knew the answer.

"It was kill or be killed. That is the philosophy that we once lived by," Leon cut in.

"Correct. At this moment, you are speaking to someone who has ended far more lives than most people. That is the world in which I have been living in for the past four years, an underworld of assassins, legends, and cults. And I'm an assassin," Ash said, taking another sip of tea as his friends stared at him wide-eyed.

"As am I. If you do not understand yet, let me put it this way: if you cross any of the ones who are hunting us, then depending on who you find, there is a chance that you won't survive to see the next day," Leon warned.

"But why are they after her?" Tracey asked.

"Does it matter? You don't need to know. I believe that I told May and Max a few days ago that this information is classified. Why did you not tell them, and for that matter, why are you all here anyway?" Victor retorted.

"Because we wanted to see Ash!" Max exclaimed.

"The problem is that now is not a good time. I put protecting Anabel my first and foremost priority. Right now, I have little interest in patching things up with you. I'm sorry, but I must ask you to try to forget about this meeting, forget about me, and leave immediately," Ash said.

"And why would we do that? You're in danger, and you think that you can protect her by yourself? It's not like anything's going to happen to her if…" Dawn started, but Ash furiously cut her off.

"SHE WOULD DIE!" Ash roared. Dawn shrank under Ash's glare. "If I do not protect her, she will die."

"And what about you? Aren't you afraid of dying? No one person is worth sacrificing yourself for, Ash! It's like you're in love with her or something!" May exclaimed, with a tone of jealousy in her voice.

The response that this one statement got from Ash and his comrades was…unusual. Leon and Victor could not keep their composure; they were trying to keep their snickers under control, but with only mild success. Marisa and Sarah smiled knowingly at Ash and Anabel before they both began to giggle as well. Seeing this, Ash and Anabel themselves both began to blush and spout denials.

"I-I'm not in love with her! S-she's only my ward! I'm her bodyguard! That's all!" Ash ranted, his face turning very red.

"H-he's…I…h-how could you…?" Anabel stammered, her face becoming as red as Ash's.

Leon and Victor couldn't take it anymore; both of them burst out in laughter. Their laughter was quite contagious, and soon Sarah and Marisa were laughing as well. The others in the room just looked at them weirdly, except for Ash and Anabel, who were at the moment trying to look anywhere but at each other.

"E-enough, all of you! Quit it, come on!" Ash's attempts to calm them were futile, and Anabel found that she could not handle it any longer.

"STOP IT!" Anabel screamed. This outburst silenced all four of the people who were laughing. Their laughing faces turned to expressions of surprise at the fact that the normally calm and peaceful Anabel was the one who had stopped them. "You…you all just don't understand! I'm tired of all of this!"

With that, Anabel got up and headed towards her room, ignoring all of the pairs of eyes that followed her retreat. There was no one who did not notice the tears that fell out of her eyes.

"Anabel…" Sarah whispered, before running after her.

After Sarah left, Leon pounded the wall next to him the side of his fist. "We're idiots, every single one of us," he growled.

"How does this always happen? No matter how strong any of us are, how is it that we can never consider what our actions might cause?" Victor lamented.

"Hey, don't drag us into this!" Barry protested. He then quavered when both Leon and Victor glared viciously at him, but it was Ash who spoke, in a voice so cold that there was no chance of argument.

"Why are you still here?" he muttered, his palms beginning to spark. Even Raichu glared at them, as if it blamed them as well.

"Ash…I'm so…" May whispered.

Ash released a surge of energy into a small table near him, destroying it completely before shooting up from his seat. "I'm going after her, and if I come back and see any of you still here, I will not hesitate to pitch you off that balcony myself!" Ash glared at Leon, Marisa, and Victor before adding, "No matter who you are." With that, he stalked into the hallway, heading towards Anabel's room.

"Do you see how he has changed?" Leon asked Ash's old friends, who were all shocked and even a little frightened of his earlier threat. "Don't worry. I can assure you that he won't try to throw you off that balcony, but he will definitely throw you out of that door."

Victor shrugged. "In a way, this was a mild success. His goal was to show you all he changed, and he did, so in other words, you're done here. Now please leave," he said.

May and Dawn were about to protest, but Marisa spoke before they could. "For your own good, take your leave now. To answer your question, he would die for Anabel. No matter what they both say, it's obvious that they have feelings for each other. We have to apologize to them," she said, retreating into the hallway. "Come on, guys."

"This meeting is over. If I were you, I'd leave," Leon said, repeating his comrades' words before following Victor and Marisa into the hallway that led to the rooms.

_Meanwhile…_

Ash found Sarah walking back from Anabel's room. She answered his question before it was even asked. "She's locked herself inside her room," she whispered.

"I see. Let me talk to her," Ash offered.

"Good luck," Sarah said, laying a hand on Ash's shoulder as if she were tagging him in as they passed each other.

Ash raised a fist and knocked on Anabel's door thrice. "Go away! I don't want to talk you now, Sarah!" Anabel cried.

"It's not Sarah. It's Ash," Ash called.

"Oh." There were a few moments of silence. "I don't want to talk to you either."

Ash sighed. "That…hurts a little. How did Victor do this?" He thought about it for a little and went for a different route. "Anabel, please let me in. I think I understand how you feel."

Anabel unlocked and opened the door a crack immediately after Ash said this, which led him to believe that she was waiting right inside the door. "You do?"

"You weren't the only one who was teased, Anabel. Do you think that I didn't feel the same humiliation?" Ash asked. To his surprise, Anabel's face fell, and she closed the door again. "Anabel? What's wrong?"

"I didn't leave because I was humiliated, Ash," she murmured.

"Then why…" Ash was cut off when Anabel suddenly threw the door open and yanked him into her room, closing the door in the process. Before he could react, she had put his hand to her chest. Ash blushed a little. "What are you…?"

"Read my heart," Anabel ordered. Ash opened his mouth to ask a question, but she used her free hand to wave it off. "Do it. Please. I left because I can no longer bear the fact that you don't know how I feel. You might have failed before, but I want you to try again. Please!"

At this, the first inklings of suspicion surfaced in Ash's mind, but his palm flared up with harmless energy as he immersed himself in Anabel's emotions. The sensation was a first even for him; he had never tried to read someone else's emotions before, even though all Aura Guardians were capable of it. For them, though, it required some time and energy, and compared to telepaths and empaths like Anabel who seemed to do it easily, it seemed too much of a hassle for them.

Even so, he found it to be only mildly difficult; Anabel had not tried to hide her emotions or block him out entirely, which was a good thing; had she wanted to do either, it would have been easy for her. He was no match for her when it came to mental offense.

Ash soon became aware of a warm feeling surrounding him, as if a blanket had been placed on his shoulders. As he dove deeper into the hub of Anabel's emotions, the feeling got stronger, as if the hypothetical blanket was getting thicker by the second. It was both familiar and unfamiliar, but he had an inkling of what it was.

His inkling grew into a suspicion, then a guess, and finally the truth. The feeling was love. Since Ash knew that Anabel loved her Pokémon, he realized that this feeling was aimed towards a human; otherwise, there would have been no point in revealing love to him. He knew she didn't have feelings for him; her denials from earlier and from when they met up with Victor proved that fact. Anabel was beyond his league anyway; with her, he felt like a Houndoom howling at the moon, forever pining for it, but too low to catch it no matter how strong he was.

Ash was still thinking about this supposed fact with some feelings of jealousy when he came upon what appeared to be a mental door. Surprisingly, it was unlocked, and without hesitation, he entered, thinking that whomever Anabel loved had to be behind the door.

He soon found out that he was both right…and wrong. The feeling of being right came first. As soon as he opened the door, he was exposed to a variety of images. But the man that they depicted was…himself. He saw himself in Anabel's point of view, battling against her twice, them together, jumping into that lake, and running for their lives from the Beedrill. And then there were the more recent scenes. The battles against Ian, Vigo, Averill, and Lucian were shown to him in rapid succession, but for some reason, there was a _glow_ about him, as if he were a saint.

That was when Ash began to realize that he was wrong. The full impact of this fact came only when he realized that he could not go any deeper. This was the full extent of Anabel's emotions, and after a few seconds, he noticed that the warm feeling was at its greatest intensity. He felt like he was in a blanket of clouds with the scent of roses, almost bringing a feeling of full euphoria onto him.

And that was when Ash realized that it was all him. Anabel felt something like this for _him_! At first, he told himself that it could never be true, that he was deluding himself, but after a few seconds of thinking, there was no other answer. She had fallen for Ash.

Of course, despite his normal confidence, even Ash needed confirmation when it came to feelings like this. And so, he pulled himself out, quickly retreating from the depths of Anabel's emotions. It took him a minute or so to regain his real-world senses, and the first thing he saw was the beautiful lilac-haired girl whose heart he had just read. Her blushing face was turned away from him, as if she couldn't bear to see his reaction. Raichu and the newly noticed Espeon looked at Ash in concern as he stumbled away from her in the goal of regaining his footing.

"Now you know," was all Anabel said.

"How long has it been since you started having these feelings?" Ash asked.

"Since your battles with me. They started out as a crush, but they blossomed into love as I thought more and more about you," Anabel explained.

"So you do love me," Ash said.

"If you don't want to be with me, that's fine! Pursue May or Dawn or Misty if you wish…as long you know that I'll always be there…and that I'll always…always…l-love…" Anabel began to cry again, tears leaking out of her eyes.

Ash took Anabel by surprise when he suddenly picked her up and carried her like a princess to her bed. He sat down and sat her on his lap, gazing at her with the utmost affection. What he did next surprised her even more.

Ash grasped her chin between his fingertips, forcing her to look up at him. He was taken by her lilac eyes for a bit before he leaned down and kissed her, his eyes closing. A second later, Anabel's eyes closed as well as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling Ash closer to her and deepening the kiss. Ash's hand left her chin as he wrapped his arms around her waist, making it seem even more passionate. Before long, both of them were in euphoria.

Even when they broke apart about half a minute later, gasping for air, they still kept their foreheads together. Raichu had just joined Espeon on the bed, and they were looking on, very happy for their trainers. Of course, the humans themselves were blissfully oblivious.

"I don't know how exactly how I feel about you in that regard, Anabel. What I do know is that I care more about you than any of those other girls. You are the person dearest to me," Ash murmured. Anabel smiled and laid her head onto his shoulders, and he held her tighter in return.

"But how could you love someone like me? What is it about me that draws you in?" Ash asked.

Anabel gazed at him with a solemn look. "Your kindness and courage. You want to help me, even put your life in danger just for me. I don't care if you think you're some kind of monster, to me, you're more like a dark knight; someone who wants to change despite all the ice in his heart, and who fights for someone who doesn't matter, who believes themselves to be…inadequate," she said.

Ash looked at her sharply. "_Never_ call yourself that again. You are far from inadequate. You are no regular girl. Have you seen yourself lately?" He lightly kissed her again before continuing. "You are beautiful, Anabel. Your skin is so soft, and your hair flows down to your waist so smoothly. You are kind and selfless. If anything, I'm the one who is completely out of your league. But even so…" Ash dipped his head close to her neck and inhaled deeply, making Anabel blush. "Your scent makes me want to breathe you in for the rest of my life."

"You're flattering me," Anabel stated.

Ash smiled. "Perhaps, but there are more reasons to love someone. I don't know if I said this before, but I'll say it. You are a beacon, a ray of hope for me."

Anabel put a finger to his lips. "I know where this is going, and I want you to stop. You are not a monster, Ash," she said. Ash gasped a little. "When you look at me, I can hardly contain myself, and I want to just throw myself into your arms and stay there forever, because I know that you can protect me. If I'm your beacon, then let yourself be my guardian. I can't keep shining forever."

"I'll make sure you do, Anabel. And I know how I feel about you," Ash said. "Just as you will always love me, so too will I love you. You're so beautiful, so precious to me…and yet…I don't know if I can protect you. I fight for you, but..."

Anabel put a finger to Ash's lips, silencing him. "Ash…even if I die, even if I were to die tomorrow…these past few days have been the happiest of my life…" She kissed him before continuing. "Because you were there with me."

"I will not let them take you, Anabel. Not without a fight," Ash vowed.

"I know you won't," Anabel said. After a few moments of silence, she spoke again. "Can you stay with me tonight?"

Ash looked at her in shock. "Are you sure?"

"I've been never been more sure of anything. I want to feel you by my side," Anabel said.

"I see." Ash lifted Anabel off of his lap and guided her back onto her bed and pinned her. "I don't plan on sleeping in this position, just so you know." he said.

"Nor do I," Anabel said.

"However, I would like to look down on you for a little bit longer like this. You look lovely with your hair fanned out like that," Ash said, before leaning down and raking his tongue over her neck. "Besides…you are mine, just as I am yours."

Anabel smiled. "Precisely," she agreed, before leaning up to kiss him. As the night played out, the new couple indulged in many more shared kisses and caresses, enjoying what was almost sure to be one of their most peaceful nights ever…for when they woke up in the morning, they would be fighting again. But that was beside the point.

"I love you, Anabel, more than you could ever imagine," Ash murmured.

Anabel gazed up at him, smiling beautifully. "I love you, too."

Outside, Leon, Sarah, Victor, and Marisa had all been listening in, and all of them had the sense not to go in, instead opting to quietly slip away. Only Marisa and Sarah were gushing, but all of them knew that with this new development, Ash and Anabel would want to protect each other even more. And in the upcoming battle, they would need all the advantage they could get.

**Whew, that's a load off my shoulders, although I must admit, the ending was a bit weak. **

**Originally, I planned to have their first kiss during the future battle against Lust, which would be the fourth battle, but I don't think I could have kept the romantic tension going for any longer. Oh, well, at least I was successful in turning a reunion gone wrong into the start of a romance between Beatrice and Alucard. Still, this was a comparatively short chapter. **

**In any case, please leave a comment below. Remember, they keep me motivated. And a toast to those who can correctly guess where I got those names. **


	19. Unprepared Assault

**Beatrice from Dante's Inferno; a pure soul rather like Anabel, and Alucard from Hellsing; a demon-like, badass mercenary with a rather kind heart, somewhat like Ash. That is the answer to the riddle-like statement in the last chapter. Perhaps that were a little much, it was a terrible riddle. But still, kudos to those who figured it out. **

**And again, this chapter was created because I got bored.**

Ash, Anabel, Raichu and Espeon snapped awake when they heard a loud bang through the wall. It was dawn, but they were all instantly alert. All of them quickly sensed three strong energy signatures and another overwhelmingly more powerful one.

"They're here," Ash snapped, sliding out of bed.

"I'm coming with you!" Anabel declared. To her surprise, Ash did not argue, and the two of them, along with Raichu and Espeon, raced out, meeting Sarah, Leon, and Marisa along the way.

"Where's Victor?" Ash growled.

"He headed next door. It's where your old friends are rooming!" Marisa answered.

"Whose idiotic idea was that?!" Ash demanded.

"Mine! We owed them, so we booked a suite for them! Victor and I shared the bill!" Leon said as they rushed towards the next suite, seeing Victor's long coat trail in and hearing his battle cry.

They reached it an instant later, just in time to follow up Victor's attack. Unfortunately, it was too late. Three Aura Guardians held Ash's old friends hostage, tied up and under glowing hands. Sitting on a chair, as if he were waiting for them, was an unshaven and unruly red-haired man in his mid-twenties wearing a horribly wrinkled green pinstripe suit.

"I apologize, Ashvier. I was too slow," Victor murmured. Ash only grunted in response as the man began to speak.

"Ashvier Nova Ketchum and his little band of merry men, I presume? It is quite the pleasure to meet you," the man drawled, stretching.

"Your name?" Ash growled.

"Is of no consequence. Of course, I speak for my birth name. My preferred name…is Sloth," their opponent introduced himself.

The six would-be rescuers stiffened, but Ash growled deep in his throat. "Probably should have guessed. You may be wearing a suit, but it's ridiculously unkempt. And you need a good shaving. I wonder how many fleas exist in that Raticate's nest you call your face?"

Sloth yawned, exposing mildly yellow teeth. "Quite the barbed jab…however, I have no time for insults. Pride made me come out here, and truthfully, I don't feel like dealing with you," he sighed.

"Ash, help us. Please!" Max cried.

One of the Aura Guardians kicked him, making him cry out in pain. "Shut your yap!" he growled.

"Hey, leave my brother alone!" May snapped.

"So you want to get blasted first? Hmmm?" another one leered at her.

"Let them go right now, Sloth," Ash said, his voice eerily calm.

"Or else what?" Sloth challenged.

"Or…" In a flash, Ash's Aura Sword, Leon's Aura Spear, and four of Victor's Aura Chains were in their respective owner's hands. Marisa's hands began to spark with yellow energy, and Sarah and Anabel prepared their own assault. "We end you," Ash threatened.

"We will let them go if you give us the Lilac Maiden," Sloth said.

"What?" Ash asked.

"You heard me. Give the Lilac Maiden to me and then we will let your friends go," Sloth sighed.

"You're kidding, right? I should pierce through all of your lungs right now!" Victor spat, his chains waving seemingly by their own will in midair.

"Ah, ah, ah. If you try that, we will blast them. Give Anabel Crystallium to us. She will be given back to you once we are done with her, of course," Sloth said.

"Ash, give her to them!" Barry cried.

Leon snapped his glare towards Barry, and he cowered. "You're supposed to say that her life is more important than yours and that you don't mind dying in the name of justice!" he exclaimed.

"Come on, Ash! She'll be fine! Our lives are more important!" May insisted. Leon smacked a hand to his forehead.

"See? Your friends are begging you. So give her to us. Last chance, Ashvier," Sloth said.

Ash's face was shadowed. "How dare you," he growled.

"And what are you going to do to us?" Sloth asked.

"Shut up, I wasn't talking to you," Ash growled. Sloth raised an eyebrow slightly, and then it went higher as Ash turned his glare onto his old friends.

"How dare you suggest that I would give Anabel to them just to save your lives! You were captured yourselves, you showed up here and put yourselves in danger, and you begged for your lives! Pathetic!" Ash snapped.

Anabel was taken aback by her lover's cruelty. "Ash!" she cried.

Ash ignored her, instead turning back to Sloth and stepping forward. "How dare you question my resolve! Do you really believe that those people will be enough incentive? You're an idiot!"

"So you don't care for them?" Sloth asked.

"I do. However, I don't plan on giving Anabel to you. I will not let you take her and I will keep her safe, no matter the cost. I made her and all her friends and family that promise," Ash declared, taking another step.

Sloth laughed. "I see. Then these hostages are useless." He raised a hand. "Kill them," he ordered. One of the three Aura Guardians, the one who had not spoken as of yet, blanched.

"B-but sir! We cannot harm any innocents!" he protested.

The one who kicked Max now punched the reluctant one in the face. "Don't be a wimp, Mikhail! Master Sloth gave us an order!" he snapped. He and the other one then aimed their hands and prepared their blasts. After a second, the other one prepared as well.

"Ash!" Max begged. But Ash didn't even spare him a glance. Instead he grinned and tapped his foot twice just as the Aura Guardians fired point-blank blasts at Ash's old friends, using their own barriers to block the recoil.

"It's over!" Sloth laughed. Ash's face was ashen, despite his bravado before. "Look on the bright side. I eliminated your past. Now there is nothing in your way, and your anger will only make you stronger."

"Actually, I'd check again if I were you!" Marisa exclaimed.

Sloth looked confused until Mikhail cried out in surprise. "What?" Sloth demanded.

"S-sir…it's…" the one who had leered at May stammered.

"What is it, Elvin?" Sloth snapped.

But he got his answer an instant later. The dust from the explosions cleared to reveal a glowing blue barrier around a red barrier, followed by a green barrier, and then a yellow barrier. "W-what?" Sloth repeated, a bit more shakily this time due to his surprise.

"Hoh, it looks like we all had the same idea," Victor chuckled.

"What is the meaning of this?" Sloth asked.

"They are ground barriers created out of Aura particles discharged by a footstep. The particles travel along the ground until they reach their intended targets. Once the user taps his foot, they automatically activate and surround the targets. The best thing about these little force fields is that it's such a small movement that the enemy never notices such small movements until it is too late. If this technique had a backlash effect, it would be much more ideal, but beggars can't be choosers," Marisa explained.

"I've never even heard of this technique!" Elvin exclaimed.

"Of course you haven't. This technique was developed by our late leader, Ian Araxes. And because of you, I had to kill him," Ash said, his tone growing as sharp and as cold as ice stalactites.

"Ah, yes. Quite a tragedy that was. A Tier 5 member killing his own leader," Sloth said.

"It was ultimately you who killed him, Sloth. This would have never happened if you hadn't sent him to us!" Leon snapped.

"But it was your decision to kill him in cold blood. The fault is yours," Sloth argued.

"Whose fault it is doesn't matter now. The fact is you're here to take Anabel. And there's not a single one of us that will allow such a thing," Sarah declared.

"Mikhail, Elvin, and Randolph; take them down, and be sure not to harm the Lilac Maiden. Pride won't be happy if anything happens to her," Sloth commanded.

"Sir!" Randolph, the one who had struck Mikhail, saluted before creating an Aura Scythe out of dark energy. Mikhail formed a set of Aura Claws out of red energy, which was a pair of gauntlets with foot-long claws at the knuckles. Finally, Elvin formed an Aura Sword out of blue energy.

All three opponents rushed forward at the same time, but neither Ash, Leon, nor Victor were surprised. Ash quickly engaged Randolph, ducking under a swift scythe blow and parrying another before hurling an Aura Sphere point-blank into his chest, followed by a hilt strike to Randolph's lungs and knocking the wind out of him. Ash finished by striking Randolph's head and knocking him out.

Leon and Mikhail's battle went even more easily. Mikhail had chosen his opponent badly, and Leon quickly took advantage of his greater range and stabbed Mikhail in the arm before slamming the shaft of his spear into the side of Mikhail's head like a baseball bat. Needless to say, he was out like a light.

Victor's battle took the longest, but it was pretty much because he was playing with Elvin. His four already-activated chains whipped forward, and Elvin laughed as he destroyed them all. Victor was not worried, flinging forward twelve chains. This time, Elvin was only able to destroy six, and the rest went around his sword strikes and slashed his arms and body. Elvin roared, rushing forward and preparing his sword. However, Victor had stopped playing, and hurled thirty chains at Elvin, completely entrapping the swordsman. Although these chains were more fragile than the earlier ones, Victor mercilessly squeezed Elvin, dissipating his sword due to the lack of focus and forcing his blackout.

All these battles took place under the course of two minutes. Now, Ash, Leon, and Victor glared at Sloth, who was now backing up in surprise and a little bit of fear. "I-impossible…they were Tier 1 members…" he stammered.

"Didn't you notice that their attacks at point-blank range didn't even crack Ash's barrier? It's amazing how much even you stick to the former ways, Sloth," Leon mocked.

"However, there is no doubt that you are far beyond these guys. If you were to fight us, the collateral damage to the town would be too great. So if you don't mind, let's take this somewhere else," Ash suggested.

Sloth shrugged. "Very well." Then, his eyes glowed, and the three Tier 1 members disappeared. "I don't feel like taking care of those fools, so I teleported them back to base, nothing to worry about," he said as a way of explanation.

"And what makes us think that you aren't just planning to bring them back to take my friends as hostages again?" Ash growled.

"I have no interest in such a bothersome tactic anymore. You have already proven that it will not work. Besides, once an agent, always an agent. I have some decency left in me, after all," Sloth sighed. He went to the balcony and released a Noctowl, climbing up on top of it. "Meet me outside the town's north entrance in an hour." He flew off.

Sarah mentally untied and loosened the ropes that bound Ash's old friends, and they shot up immediately, glaring at Ash. "Aw, those glares instead of "thank you"? That really hurts, you know," Leon drawled.

Ash smirked. "Don't tell me you're still pissed about me choosing to save Anabel's life instead of yours," he sighed.

"Why would you do that?!" Misty demanded.

"We traveled with you for so long, and you just ignored that to save one girl whom you barely even know?!" Dawn added.

"I gave you a solid barrier, and I ensured that it was strong enough. I had no intention of simply letting you die. It's simply that when it comes to a choice between Anabel and you, I'd put Anabel first and let the chips fall where they may. Of course, they usually fall my way," Ash said.

"We're your friends!" Barry protested.

"Correct, which is why I protected you," Ash said.

"We…"

"I have no interest in listening to your complaints. I warned you all to leave before you got involved. Of course, you didn't listen. It doesn't matter that it was Leon's idea for you to stay here last night. The fact still remains that you should have had the common sense to leave when I told you to. And now look in the situation we're in. Now I have to contact people to keep you safe, because I can't do it myself. Anabel is simply too important to me," Ash said.

"I'll deal with that, Ash. There is a faction in Aura Psychicorum that is on our side. I'll call in a few favors. Besides, I have to make up for my mistake," Leon said.

"See that you do. Now we have to figure out how to take down Sloth," Ash said.

"Let's do this back in our room. Speaking of which, how sad is it that we haven't even brushed our teeth or eaten breakfast, and yet we're still kicking their asses?" Leon asked.

The three male fighters looked around for a second before laughing at Leon's quip. The girls shook their heads, but found themselves snickering as well. As the six of them headed back to their rooms, Ash humorlessly remarked, "Aaaah, we are total fight addicts, aren't we?" Leon and Victor sighed rather sadly.

**The next chapter will be the battle against the first of the Seven Sins, Sloth. Here's a hint about his powers: they are similar to those of someone in Ash's party. I suggest that you guess if you want to try out this mini-riddle; the answer will be rather unexpected. If you send a review or PM me with your answer and if it is correct, you will be acknowledged. Unfortunately, I don't believe in giving out imaginary cookies. If I did, I would have done it already.**

**I'm also sorry for making Ash's old friends total jerks in this chapter, but think about it this way. They're all thirteen to seventeen years old, and have no idea of the violent underworld or of the consequences of giving Anabel to the enemy, plus there are their lives to consider. Seriously, they're not martyrs like Ash and his friends, so why would they want to die at their young age? **

**In any case, leave a comment below if you so wish. Remember, I need to know what you guys think about my work so that I have a better idea of what you want.**

**Sayonara for now. **


	20. An End That Begins

**Now that I look back at the last chapter, I will admit that it was comparatively **_**horrible**_**. Still, the battle with Sloth is nigh, and it appears that no one could, or even bothered to, guess his power. How disappointing. **

**In any case…shall we begin?**

After the morning hygienic practices and breakfast, the six fighters headed towards the north entrance of Alamos Town. Along the way, Anabel and Sarah were given details of Sloth's power.

"He's a telekinetic?!" Sarah exclaimed.

"He's one of the few male psychics in the entirety of Aura Psychicorum. Ironically, he's also one of the most powerful, but he doesn't hold a candle to the more powerful of the Seven Sins like Envy or Lust. Even so, the fact that Pride sent him here must mean that they're getting serious," Ash said.

"Do you think that Pride is the enemy's leader?" Anabel asked.

"It's a possibility, but that's not the point. The strongest member who we've seen so far is Envy, who's only the third strongest. We have no idea who Pride, or even Wrath, is. However, Leon has heard a few rumors here and there," Ash said, looking at the lancer.

Leon took up the story. "Some say that Pride and Wrath are so far beyond the other Seven Sins that the two of them alone can take on the other five and win with only slight difficulty. Others say that they are the children created from the coupling of Iestyn and a powerful Psychic. I even heard once that they were sent on a mission to stop a growing crime syndicate in the Orre region, and not only was the mission finished in just two days, but the elites of the syndicate were later reported to be undergoing intense therapy in a mental asylum, all the while mumbling about a pair of demons and their twelve monstrous Pokémon who completely dominated the syndicate's leaders and utterly broke their minds."

This made all heads turn to him. "Are you serious?!" Marisa exclaimed.

Leon nodded grimly. "It's only what I've heard," he said. They were now nearing the north entrance.

Victor sighed. "The point is, if we cannot defeat Sloth, Pride and Wrath will wipe the floor with us even if we do survive. From here on out, no more playing around. We only have to keep Anabel from them until the winter solstice, which is in ten months. To be perfectly honest, it won't be easy. Guess that's why you wanted to attack them first, huh?"

Ash nodded. "It's not ideal, I know, but it's probably better to attack them first. They've already sent Sloth to our location, and he's already taken the opportunity to take my old friends hostage, which means that we've stayed here for far too long. Once we take down Sloth, I want us to leave here as soon as possible. Agreed?" he proposed.

"Agreed," the others said at virtually the same time.

"Good," Ash accepted as they left the town's main vicinity. "Now where…?"

"Right here, Ashvier." Sloth spoke up from a large rock upon which he was sitting. He had changed out of his suit and was now wearing a gray vest over a white shirt, black pants and boots, and thickly padded gloves. "I will allow you to decide how you wish to fight me, but I would prefer it if you only fought me one-on-one. It's too much of a pain to fight all six of you, and I do not have thirty six Pokémon with me either."

"Don't worry about it, Sloth. We're only going to fight you two-on-one," Ash declared.

"We are?!" Leon exclaimed.

"I think Anabel and I will be enough to handle him," Ash reasoned.

"No," Victor quickly denied. Ash looked at him and he shook his head to illustrate his point. "I don't think it will be a good idea to send in a half-trained telepath into battle. It is true that she has indeed gotten stronger, but we cannot let her fight one of the Seven Sins just yet, even if it is Sloth. On the other hand, sending you in alone will be equally unwise."

"So what do you propose?" Anabel asked.

"I'll help Ash out. It's time to show you all that I'm not the same as before. Besides, against a telekinetic, I'm probably the one with the best chance of fighting him," Victor said.

"True. But the reason I want Anabel to help me is because she's half-trained. From the looks of it, Sarah is in good shape, but Anabel still needs more training. You can come with us if you want, Victor, but I want her by my side," Ash said.

"Are you mad?!" Victor shouted.

"Victor! I'm going!" Anabel scolded. Victor turned an uncharacteristically ferocious glare on her, but she pressed on. "I think that the safest place right now is at Ash's side. I just…trust him to protect me."

Victor recalled what he had heard last night, and then looked at Ash and Anabel again. Leon, Sarah, and Marisa were not complaining, which meant that they agreed with Ash and Anabel as well. Victor sighed, knowing he had been overruled. "Very well. I'll probably regret this, but it's good to have you by my side as well, I suppose." Anabel smiled, and Victor saw plainly why Ash was enamored with her.

"Are you finished?" Sloth called.

Anabel was the one who responded. "Three-on-one, Sloth. Ash, Victor and I against you," she said.

Sloth sighed. "What a pain," he said, looking up. His opponents followed his gaze to see…Ash's old friends…flying in on their Pokémon.

Needless to say, Ash's reaction was not exactly the greatest. As soon as they landed, he soon bombarded them with a steady stream of expletives, curses, and dramatic arm movements that, had May not covered Max's ears, would have given the younger boy a much more…colorful vocabulary.

"Enough, Ash, just leave them to us. We'll watch over them while you kick Sloth's ass," Leon said.

"Good luck, guys!" Marisa cheered.

"We'll be right here if you need us!" Sarah said.

Ash, Anabel and Victor headed towards Sloth as Ash's old friends, finally seeing the danger, headed towards Leon, Marisa, and Sarah, who greeted them with nods. "Enjoy the show, guys. This will be the greatest representation yet," Leon laughed.

The first thing that Sloth did was have six Poke Balls float and open, revealing his team; Slaking, Exeggutor, Golem, Magcargo, Shuckle, and Blastoise.

"A tank team. Everyone, release two Pokémon each. Let's try to keep this a fair fight," Ash said.

"Weavile, Rapidash!" Victor released the ice ninja and the fire horse.

"Raichu, Gallade!" Ash's rodent and soldier took the stage as well.

"Espeon, Gardevoir!" Anabel's main Psychic battlers were her choices.

"Do you honestly believe that it will be easy for your sweepers to defeat my tanks? What a naïve strategy!" Sloth mocked, creating a formation of sticks and stones like Sarah often did.

"This is it, Anabel. Your first battle. How do you feel?" Ash asked.

"Quite apprehensive, to say the least. Still, there's no time like the present to learn," Anabel sighed.

"All that I ask is that you watch my back, both of you," Ash said.

"Not a problem. They're coming!" Victor warned.

Slaking roared as Raichu shocked it with a Thunderbolt. Golem glared at Gardevoir as it was lifted into the air. Espeon growled as it fired Psybeam, countering Blastoise's Water Pulse. Weavile and Shuckle stared each other down, trying to get a feel for the other's capabilities. Gallade grinned as it deflected Exeggutor's Seed Bomb with Psycho Cut. And finally, Rapidash stared down at Magcargo, seeming rather amused at the fire snail.

Sloth hurled the giant rock he was sitting on earlier directly at Ash, but Victor abruptly reduced it to dust with a hurled wave of a hundred Aura Chains. Undeterred, Sloth fired a bunch of sticks at Anabel that flew like knives under his control, and they quickly fell as Anabel launched a mental attack that surprised Sloth with its sheer power, breaking his concentration and his control over the sticks.

Ash took the opportunity, rushing forward with his Aura Sword. However, Sloth quickly regained his control and summoned a hidden metal pipe from his array of projectiles and hurled it at Ash. The swordsman cut it apart easily, but Sloth then hurled the entire array at Ash, forcing him to unleash a powerful surge of Aura to completely annihilate the array. He soon saw, however, that Sloth had meant this as a distraction, and gasped as he realized that the telekinetic had yet another giant boulder to throw.

Ash had barely enough time to throw up a barrier that, although too weak to stop the boulder entirely, gave Victor enough time to hurl another wave of chains to shatter the boulder and attack Sloth. In turn, the fragile chains shattered when Sloth upturned earth to make a dense barrier. Anabel launched yet another mental attack on Sloth, disorienting him and making the earth barrier crumble.

"How is this…how is it possible?" Sloth complained. Ash's old friends were also confused, and Leon and Ash explained it to their respective questioners.

"In a way, telepaths are among the most powerful types of psychic or Aura Guardian. No matter how powerful either of them is, a telepath can always disrupt or even break the mental concentration required to use those techniques. They are thankfully rare, but Anabel is one of them. The moment she entered this battle, Sloth was already at a grave disadvantage. Even if Anabel is physically weak and only partially trained, I'm glad she's on our side," they explained.

The battle with the Pokémon was going slightly better. Slaking had been able to take even Raichu's powerful attacks. Thunderbolt, Volt Tackle, Iron Tail, and even Thunder had virtually no effect on the giant sloth. On the other hand, Slaking's powerful attacks had sent Raichu reeling, with a moveset of Punishment, Facade, Giga Impact, and Hammer Arm. Even though Slaking's Truant ability ensured that it had a slower attack frequency, its sheer power was like nothing Raichu had ever felt before. As a result, Raichu felt itself getting worn down even though it landed more attacks than Slaking had.

Nearby, Espeon was having the same kind of trouble from Blastoise. Its attacks were a bit more effective on the giant turtle than Raichu's were on Slaking, but Zap Cannon was admittedly inaccurate, and Psychic and Psybeam were surprisingly rather ineffective. If anything, Blastoise was actually even more dangerous than Slaking, since unlike Slaking, its attack frequency was normal.

Raichu saw that Espeon was having trouble with Blastoise, and called out to it. As soon as the purple cat met the rodent's eyes, Raichu made a gesture to switch. Espeon quickly understood, and the two leaders of their respective teams led their opponents on, bringing them closer together. Then, with a backflip from both ends, Espeon fired a Psybeam on Slaking while Raichu attacked Blastoise with Thunderbolt. Both attacks made their mark, and were much more effective on these new opponents than their former targets.

Raichu now had an opponent for which its attacks were super effective, and, thanks to practice battles with Feraligatr, Ash's Squirtle, and a few other Blastoise, Raichu was much more in tune with the pacing of this Blastoise's water attacks than Espeon was. In other words, Blastoise was now finding it much more difficult to hit Raichu with so much as a Water Pulse, let alone a Hydro Pump. Soon enough, a powerful Volt Tackle from Raichu followed by a Thunderbolt for cleanup downed Blastoise.

Espeon and Slaking's situation was the same. Thanks to practice battles with Metagross, Espeon was also quite used to the attack strategy of a physical attack-type tank; hit the opponent as hard as you can while taking damage and surviving. However, thanks to Espeon's speed, which was actually as great as, if not greater than, Raichu's, Slaking was facing the same situation as Blastoise, meaning that many of its attacks missed its mark. On the other hand, Espeon took advantage of its powerful Special Attack coupled with Slaking's low Special Defense to finally defeat the giant sloth after Zap Cannon finally made its mark.

Gallade and Gardevoir, unlike their leaders, battled their opponents together, meaning that Gardevoir got hits in on Exeggutor with Shadow Ball while Gallade kept Golem at bay with Focus Blast. However, despite the two opponents' best efforts, the non-patterned switching of Gallade and Gardevoir turned a difficult skirmish into an almost impossible endeavor for Exeggutor and Golem. Gardevoir was faster than she looked, even with her gown and parasol, and even if she were caught off guard, Gallade would cover the opening in an instant and keep both Exeggutor and Golem at bay.

Of course, this was not to say that either of them took no damage at all. Golem's Stone Edge and Earthquake were threats no matter how one looked at them, and there was no mistaking the fact that Exeggutor had Psychic attributes as well. Gallade took more damage than Gardevoir due to the fact that his Fighting attribute lessened his resistance to Psychic-type attacks. However, Golem's powerful Rollout was deadly even to either Gallade or Gardevoir, and, more often than not, Golem managed to get past Gallade and strike the elegant Pokémon.

Gallade soon had enough of the sentient boulder, and as Golem reared up for an Earthquake, Gallade intercepted it with a Focus Blast. Gardevoir then took advantage of Golem's now-vulnerable state and used Psychic to slam it into Exeggutor. Golem was knocked out, but Exeggutor was still standing, and attempted one last Leaf Storm. The attack was effective enough to actually bring both Gallade and Gardevoir to their knees, but Gallade quickly recovered and finally defeated the coconut tree with a Night Slash before helping Gardevoir up. Her gracious smile brought a blush to his face.

Weavile's battle against Shuckle was not as complicated as those of the Pokémon of Anabel and Ash's. Shuckle was actually one of the weaker members of Sloth's team, and Weavile could easily overwhelm it with its speed. However, when it came to defense, Shuckle was one of the best in the Pokémon world, and only needed to hide in its shell to avoid Night Slash and Ice Beam, and Shuckle's Gyro Ball was much more devastating to Weavile than Weavile's attacks on Shuckle.

However, Weavile held the same role in Victor's team as Drapion did in Leon's team; the assassin. As soon as it realized how much of an annoyance Shuckle's defense would be, Weavile changed tactics. While it really didn't feel like exploiting advantages, Victor had chosen it for a reason, and it had no intention of failing the artist's expectations. Weavile began to use Metal Claw, a move that was obviously far more effective on Shuckle. The difference immediately showed, as Shuckle's shell was cracked with only two slashes. Shuckle used Rock Slide, hoping to crush Weavile and knock it out, but Weavile completely blew all the falling boulders away with a Dark Pulse. Despite the type advantage that Shuckle had on Weavile, Weavile was obviously more powerful, and quickly defeated Shuckle with several slashes of Metal Claw.

If there were ever an easier fight than that between Rapidash and Magcargo…well, it would be difficult to find. Magcargo was hardly even a challenge for Rapidash. Despite the fact that it had a Rock-Type advantage on Rapidash, Magcargo did not have the necessary speed to exploit it, unlike Weavile. The fire snail was hopelessly outclassed in speed and power, and Rapidash quickly dispatched it thanks to its Flash Fire absorbed flames from when Magcargo made the initial mistake to use Flamethrower on Rapidash. The fire horse's Fire Blast, on the other hand, was much more effective.

Meanwhile, Sloth wasn't doing as well as anyone had thought he would. With Anabel weakening his control over objects, it was difficult for Sloth to even lift up a small stone. Had the attacks all been of the same power, Sloth wouldn't have had as much trouble, but Anabel had learned how to vary the strength of her mental attacks to keep Sloth on his toes. Sometimes he would be prepared for an attack much stronger than she gave him, and other times, he was utterly taken aback by the sheer power of another of Anabel's attacks. She hadn't learned any of the strongest telepathic techniques, such as mind crushing or illusions, but Anabel was still the greatest contributor to the fight, and her attacks left openings for Ash and Victor to exploit.

"Give up yet, Sloth?" Victor taunted as he destroyed yet another giant boulder.

"What a pain…it appears that I actually have to try…" Sloth muttered, before suddenly disappearing and reappearing right in front of Ash and then landing twelve punches on his stomach, all in the span of two seconds. Even Ash couldn't react as he was blown away by the final punch.

"How did…?" Victor was cut off as he was forced to defend himself as Sloth's new target. However, Sloth somehow evaded all of Victor's new sixteen chains and rammed his right knee into Victor's stomach, knocking the wind and some blood out of him before he fell.

Sloth turned to Anabel and moved fast enough to seemingly disappear, but Anabel quickly tracked down his mind and attacked. Sloth suddenly reappeared in front of her, much to her surprise, but there was no time to think. While maintaining the mental attack, Anabel ducked under Sloth's straight punch and hit him with an uppercut before spinning for a backhand blow. However, the more experienced Sloth caught her hand and bodily pitched her away. She managed to land on her feet and continued her mental attack as she took a fighting stance and as Sloth rushed forward again.

This time, though, he did not disappear, although he was still clearly moving much faster than a normal human being ever could. Then Anabel noticed his feet. They were barely touching the ground as he raced towards her. She blocked Sloth's right hook with difficulty; the impact was overwhelming enough to nearly shatter her left forearm, but she took his front kick hard. The wind was knocked out of her, and she fell to her knees, but she was now certain of what was going on.

Anabel increased the power of her mental attack as Sloth was about to attack once more, disorienting him long enough for her to scream a quick warning. "Ash! He's using telekinesis to control his own body! It's making him faster!"

Ash and the now-reawakened Victor heard her, and both of them understood immediately. "Is that so? Thank you for that information, my dear…" Ash sighed.

Victor's chains reformed and waved about in the air, despite his pain. "You can leave the rest to us…" One of his chains flung forward to hurl a blast of Aura at Sloth, who, having recovered, was about to attack Anabel. The attack missed as Sloth controlled himself to move at inhuman speeds, reappearing several yards from where he was standing less than a second before.

"It doesn't matter if you know what's going on, you cannot stop it. However, I feel bored now, so if you don't mind, I'd like to finish this quickly. Wrath will have my head if I fail," Sloth said.

"There's no need to worry about that…you'll meet your end right here!" Victor declared. Sloth seemed to take exception to that, and disappeared again. Anabel launched her strongest mental attack, but even it made Sloth visible as only a blur.

However, it didn't matter. Victor hurled his chains directly at Sloth, missing him only by a few inches. The blur that was Sloth changed direction, heading for Ash and confident that he could defeat the Aura Guardian.

Sloth's fist shot forward with almost unimaginable speed at Ash's face…and missed. Ash had moved his face to the side, avoiding the blow. Sloth considered it to be luck, and attacked again. And again. And again. This went on within the span of six seconds, with Sloth striking at Ash three times per second. However, he had not scored a single direct hit. At most, his punches and kicks only grazed Ash.

That's when Sloth noticed something off. Ash's eyes were closed, and yet he was avoiding Sloth's attacks like it was nothing. "How?" Sloth demanded, rocketing several yards backwards with a single leap.

"You can't escape our senses…" Victor growled.

"Oh yeah! Remember, May? Lucario did that, too!" Max exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" Barry asked.

Marisa looked at them and began to explain. "When our eyes are closed, we Aura Guardians can sense other people's Aura, similar to how a telepath does it. For example…" She closed her eyes. "May, Misty, Gary, Ritchie, Tracey, Barry, Brock, Max, Dawn, Morrison…I can see all of you. That's why we are never blind. If anything, we can see even better with our eyes closed."

Leon took up the explanation. "It's over for Sloth. Even if he escapes our sights, there's no way he can avoid our senses," he said.

He was right. Ash was now fighting on even terms with Sloth. With Anabel weakening his control, it was all Sloth could do to even blunt the edge of Ash's Aura Sword. And even then, Ash was terrifyingly accurate in his attacks, getting nearer with each one. Every time he did, Sloth could feel the breeze caused by the swings.

Sloth was being backed into a corner, and everyone knew it. He weighed his options and quickly made a decision. As Ash's sword was about to swing downwards in an attempt to at least hit Sloth, Sloth willingly took control of Ash's arm with all the strength he could muster and jutted his head forward with a smile, moving his neck into the path of the blade at the last instant. Ash realized too late what was going to happen, and by then, his blade could not be stopped. Time seemed to freeze as the Aura Sword sliced Sloth's head right off.

Anabel and Victor gasped in shock as the now headless corpse of the telekinetic toppled to the ground. Nearby, Sloth's Pokémon suddenly awakened, crying out in grief as they quickly realized what had happened. Raichu, Espeon, Weavile, Rapidash, Gallade, and Gardevoir could only look on in shock.

It only took a few seconds for the other spectators to realize what had happened. The boys' eyes were wide and none of them were able to say a word. Max had buried his face into his sister's shoulder, crying as May held him. She and the other girls held their open mouths behind their hands in a silent gasp, tears streaming down their eyes. Even Leon, Marisa, and Sarah were struck speechless at what had happened.

But no reaction was greater than Ash's. When he realized what had happened, he dissipated his sword and dropped to his knees in front of the two parts of Sloth's body, his head bowed. "Why…why would you…?"

"Ash!" Anabel and Victor ran up to him. He did not look up, even when Leon, Sarah, and Marisa joined them.

"I couldn't stop him…I couldn't stop myself…I couldn't do anything…" Ash murmured.

Anabel shook her head violently. "No, it was my fault! My telepathic attack on him was broken for just a second because my head started hurting for some reason! But I never expected him to…"

"None of us did. How could we ever expect something like this? He…he killed himself!" Leon exclaimed, for some reason still unable to believe it.

"I know! I could somehow feel it! I think he used his telekinesis to control Ash's arm before it came down! And did you see the way he jutted his head out just before it was cut off?" Sarah asked.

"He's smiling…" Everyone except for Ash looked at Victor, who had glanced at Sloth's decapitated head and noticed the frozen expression on it.

"That reminds me. Just before he killed himself, I caught a glimpse of his feelings when I tried to attack him one last time before I realized what happened…" Anabel sighed. "I don't know why, but for that last moment, through that second of pain, I thought I could feel a sense of relief, even happiness," she said.

Marisa looked at her, her eyes wide. "Happiness?! Are you sure?" she asked.

"I'm not sure at all, but that's what it seemed like." Anabel looked at the others. "But if it's true, then why would he feel happiness? He was definitely a bit lazy like his name said, but I can't imagine anyone like him actually being _happy_ to die, even if he was too lazy to live in this world anymore."

"Maybe he was?" Leon suggested.

"No. I don't think so." Everyone looked back at Ash, but after seeing the desolate look on his face, none of them decided to ask for an explanation.

"I'll do the honors. He might have taken the coward's way out, but he was still an agent of Aura Psychicorum, no matter what he was like. He should have their way of burial," Leon said. There were no protests, so Leon walked up to Sloth's body.

"Sloth of the Seven Sins. Unlike our recent opponents, you were not killed by an intentional cremation from one of our weapons. The way you died was like being cut down by an ordinary blade, leaving your body on the battlefield. Although I am no longer an agent of Aura Psychicorum, I still remember the creed that we all shared: to never leave a body behind, and to always burn the remains. I can only hope that you died fighting for what you believed was right, because that is what we, the former Tier 5, are doing. Even if you didn't, you were a formidable opponent, and so I grant you a warrior's burial. Rest assured that we will never forget you, and rest in peace as a result. Goodbye."

After saying this, Leon bowed in front of Sloth's corpse, followed by Marisa, Victor, Anabel, Sarah, and finally, Ash. While Leon was speaking, the Pokémon had returned from their respective battlegrounds, and Sloth's Pokémon were dipping their heads in grief. Leon gave them a melancholy look before he enveloped the body in a blast of Aura. Within seconds, there was no trace of the body but ashes that were quickly scattered when the breeze picked up.

"Rest in peace," Ash, Anabel, Sarah, Leon, Marisa, and Victor repeated simultaneously.

**I must admit, I've been having issues with writing as of late. The spark is gone, and writer's block is a major problem. Right now, I feel rather like a robot simply spewing out words. **

**Hopefully, this little funk of mine won't last long, but for now, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and leave a comment below if you so wish. **


	21. The First Step

**Forgive me for this long wait; I was suffering from extreme boredom caused by a lack of good anime to watch. This in turn caused a lack of inspiration and/or motivation. I'm so bored that I finished **_**Gundam SEED**_** in only a little more than a day. Seriously, 48 episodes, and I finished it over a weekend. I really have issues. **

**This boredom, combined with my sense of obligation to finish my **_**Wolf's Rain**_** story, which hasn't been updated since July (and still hasn't been), has kept me from finishing this. As my new**_** Wolf's Rain**_** chapter is nearly complete, I thought I should spend some time on my more popular story. **

**Enjoy what I've come up with after the tragic battle against Sloth. Shall we begin?**

After the ceremony was completed, Ash and his friends finally turned their attention to Sloth's Pokémon. One should realize that they now faced an issue that had previously been dealt with by the caretakers of the Battle Tower: what to do with the opponent's Pokémon. In Vigo and Averill's cases, the Pokémon were taken care of by the Battle Tower's staff until Anabel had a chance to address and train them for battle. Otherwise, they were either released back into the wild, or, in extremely rare cases, given to some of the Pokémon trainers in the Battle Tower.

But now, there was no Battle Tower to work with easily, and none of them truly felt like going back to town and sending Sloth's Pokémon over. They could not be released back into the wild either; they were too strong. The only option was to give them to other trainers.

Therefore, Ash was now having a discussion on which of the six got which Pokémon. It wasn't in any of their intentions to take any of the Pokémon, but they would if they had no choice. So, Ash asked the main question: "Who wants who?"

"It's not easy to decide such a thing, you know. None of them are my style or yours, Ash. They're all tanks," Leon mused. He turned to Marisa. "Isn't that your style, Marisa?"

"Yeah, but I'm not exactly jumping for joy at the idea of taking them," Marisa said.

"I guess we have no choice but to send them back to the Battle Tower," Anabel sighed. She looked at Sloth's Pokémon and smiled reassuringly at them before turning back. "I'm sure that they are not going to cause destruction now that Sloth's gone, but who knows when I'll have a chance to train them, especially with all the stuff that's going on right now."

"That aside, they have to be trained by someone confident and strong. There's no doubt about that," Leon said, putting his chin between two fingers in a thinking gesture.

"What about us?" Ash's old friends had come up to the six, and it was Barry who had spoken.

Leon glanced at Barry before continuing his thinking. "Someone strong…" he repeated lightly, much to the anger of Ash's old friends and the amusement of Ash and his current comrades.

Leon laughed before continuing. "Kidding, kidding." Then his face got serious. "But even so, what you have just suggested is a terrible idea. Do you really think you can control Sloth's Pokémon, who are all at a level quite beyond what you're used to?"

Sarah nodded in agreement. "He's right. Did you see the way they fought? Raichu is the strongest of Ash's Pokémon, and it still had to switch with Espeon before it could defeat an opponent. The only ones who were beaten easily were Shuckle and Magcargo, and only because they were the weakest of Sloth's team! Controlling any of them won't be easy, to say the least," she said.

Max spoke up. "But that's the point of being Pokémon trainers! We have to get stronger, and the only way we can do that is to try to train Pokémon that look like they're worlds beyond our level! We'll learn a lot more with every new challenge, and that's so we can achieve our dreams! If it's to be the best Coordinator, the best Gym Leader, or even if we just want to beat someone…" He looked at Ash as he said this. "By training stronger Pokémon, we get stronger too! Am I right?"

The six were silent for a few moments before Sarah smiled and clapped her hands together. "There we go…that's the answer I was looking for!" She turned back to the others. "I think we should at least give them a chance, huh?"

"Yep," Ash replied.

"Agreed," Anabel said.

"Of course," Victor drawled.

"I have no complaints," Marisa stated.

"Now there's the Sarah I know," Leon chuckled.

"Good. Now, who wants Slaking?" Sarah asked, taking charge.

_Later…_

After Sloth's Pokémon had been distributed, Ash and the others returned to their suite room without Ash's old friends. They had to leave immediately, after all.

After packing, they gathered in the main room. "Does everyone have a place to stay wherever they're going?" Ash asked.

"You and I can stay in my house near the Battle Tower," Anabel said. Ash nodded, but Anabel wasn't finished. "I do have one condition, though. You have to make up with your mother. She has to know what's going on with you."

To this, Ash looked at her in surprise as the others looked on, no amusement in their gazes. This was serious. When Ash saw their grim faces, he immediately gave up his two-week battle with a sigh. "All right."

Anabel smiled at him and leaned her head against his shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll be right beside you," she reassured, winking. Ash smiled back before looking questioningly at Leon and Sarah.

Leon shrugged. "I have a house near Celestic Town that Sarah and I can use. Right now, it's being taken care of by someone I hired, and it should be in good shape. I check up regularly on it."

"So that's where you always went," Victor realized.

"You and Marisa can stay at your house in Verdanturf Town, right?" Ash asked.

"Yea, although I'm not exactly looking forward to looking after Victor's house. I can only imagine the terrible condition it's in," Marisa said, grimacing.

"Hey! I'll have you know that the house is great! It's big, it's beautiful…" Victor defended.

"I wasn't talking about the outside," Marisa interrupted, looking at him queerly.

"Don't worry, only his desk is messy," Ash said. Marisa sighed in relief while Victor looked at Ash with a mix of indignation and pride.

"Good. Now, then, we should go. I've chartered private boats to take Ash and Anabel to Kanto and Victor and Marisa to Hoenn. Nothing fancy, of course, just ferries not much bigger than motorboats. However, you guys will have to pay half the fee once you get there," Leon said.

"How much?" Ash asked.

"Twenty thousand Pokedollars," Leon said.

"Fair enough," Ash said. Victor and Marisa nodded.

"You know, I think we should have asked this quite a long time ago, but…exactly how much money do you guys have?!" Anabel asked.

Ash explained their financial situation. "Aura Psychicorum has a lot of benefactors thanks to all the help they provide. Of course, some of these sponsors are crooked rich people and corrupt politicians, so they often…disappear, and the organization gets a good amount of those people's money, even all of it if they have no heir. Every agent is paid a weekly salary of seven thousand Pokedollars. That, combined with all the battling we do, lets us clear about two hundred fifty thousand Pokedollars a year, even after expenses. I think each of us has roughly a million Pokedollars to spend right now, give or take a couple thousand. Aura Psychicorum as a whole is, in reality, quite rich. I think the last count was at least two billion Pokedollars," he said.

"H-how can…these guys are…!" Sarah stammered. Both she and Anabel had only slightly less than what Ash, Victor, Marisa, and Leon had, about eight to nine hundred thousand Pokedollars to spend, but to think that Aura Psychicorum could spare so much was…mind-boggling to say the least!

"Well, in truth, Aura Psychicorum only has a few hundred agents, plus about twenty or so faculty like cooks, doctors, and instructors, so the yearly expenses are about two million. There's no trouble, really, so don't worry about it. We should be fine financially," Leon explained.

"I…see…" Anabel said, still a little shocked by the truth that had just been dropped on them.

"Good. Now, then, can we go now?" Ash asked.

"Sarah and I can just fly to Celestic Town. Ash, you and Anabel go to Sunyshore City. Victor, you and Marisa go to Canalave City. The boats I hired for you both should be there," Leon said. He and Sarah walked out to the balcony and released Aerodactyl and Togekiss.

"Thank you, Leon. Good-bye for now, both of you," Ash called.

"Try not to do anything stupid, Leon, especially with Sarah. If you do…" Anabel gave the lancer a rather scary grin as she sent him a mental image of what she would do to him if he hurt Sarah, whether it was intentionally or unintentionally. Leon was wide-eyed and shaking by the time she was done.

"Y-yes, ma'am…you know I would never hurt her," Leon managed with a tremor in his voice before producing his reacquired fedora and putting it on to hide his face.

"See that you don't," Anabel said. Leon mounted Aerodactyl and flew off. Sarah mounted Togekiss and followed right after.

"Well, we should be heading off as well," Victor suggested.

"You guys go on ahead first, I have to check us out of this place," Marisa said.

"Very well." Ash and Anabel moved to the balcony, where Ash released Charizard and helped Anabel on the dragon's back before getting on himself. Before he and Anabel took off, he took one last look at Victor and Marisa. "It was good to see you guys again. Try not to die, okay?"

"I should be saying it to you. After all, I don't want to lose any of my friends," Marisa sighed.

Ash pulled his own fedora out of his coat and put it on before having Charizard take off. "Au revoir, guys!" he called, right before he was out of earshot.

When Charizard was no longer visible, Victor sighed. "We should be going now, then. That boat won't wait forever," he said.

"Of course. Shall we, then?" Marisa asked. Victor nodded as he escorted the songstress out of the room.

As the three pairs headed in their separate ways, none of them knew what was to happen. What they all knew was that they had a less than a year to stop their enemies, and no help but each other and their Pokémon. Even so, they stepped into their futures with no hesitation. They had no choice, after all…that was life.

_**End Of Part 1**_

**And…that was Part 1. If this were an anime, this would mark the end of the first season. I really don't like transition chapters.**

**The next few chapters will be Victor-centric, followed by Leon-centric. As for Ash and Anabel, I plan something **_**special**_** for them. No, you perverts out there, they will **_**not **_**have sex. **

**Anyway, I've heard about something new called mega-evolution, which will happen in Pokémon X and Y. If I get the chance, maybe I'll incorporate it and the Fairy-Type into this story somehow. It sounds interesting. **

**Leave a comment below if you so wish. **


End file.
